A day in the life of
by VanillaAshes
Summary: A series of oneshot collections written for QL or THC.
1. Chapter 1

**Written for the Mini QL comp (Portsmouth Plovers, Keep) with the prompt 'Cinderella' and the Winter Challenge, (Trope Challenge) with the prompt 'Happily Ever After'.**

 **Word count: 1899**

 **Summary: AU!**

 **Beta's: The amazingly incredible Aya Diefair, and the incredible, Dark Angel!**

* * *

 ** _Pre-Hogwarts._**

Luna Lovegood was never the same after her mother blew herself up in the kitchen - accidentally, of course. No matter how many creatures she researched, she just couldn't find a reasonable cause for the explosion, except that her mother had made a miscalculation. Some would say it drove the young child mad.

As the days turned into weeks, and the weeks into months, little Luna found her father becoming more inclined to a certain woman: Narcissa Malfoy. She, too, had a child, and she, too, was widowed. However, the circumstances around her husband's death came with many theories. No two stories were the same.

Luna had heard at least ten different variations before she officially met Narcissa and decided that any of them could have been true. Though, she hoped they weren't - most of them involved cruel intentions on the woman's part.

As the days faded to nights, and Summer turned to Winter, the closer the two adults became.

The same could not be told for the two light-haired children.

Luna glanced up from her book about mermaids as Draco walked into the library. "Hello, Draco."

The older boy made a sound of disgust. "You're here."

"I am." She kept her voice light and soft.

"That means your idiot father is, too."

Luna let the insult slide straight past her.

"He's with your mother," she informed him, even though that would have been obvious.

"What are you doing in here?" she asked, deciding to attempt to find something in common.

She wasn't oblivious to the ring her father had brought.

"It's _my_ house. I can do whatever I want," Draco snapped - that wasn't unusual behaviour. "In fact, get out. This is _my_ library!"

Before Luna could open her mouth to inform him that she had permission, he had already approached her.

"Are you not listening? Get out of my library you stupid, filthy, looney, fre-"

"DRACO LUCIUS MALFOY!" his mother voice roared. "That is no way to talk to a guest."

Draco had jumped back so quickly, it's as if Narcissa had pulled her wand on him. "But-"

He was silenced with a wave of the woman's hand. "Now, children. Xeno and I have some news."

Luna's father grinned with pride, having regained his composure from the scene he and Narcissa had walked in on. "Cissy and I are getting married."

"That's disgusting!"

"Draco," his mother uttered warningly.

Though Luna felt the same way as Draco, she knew how happy her father was; that was more important than her feelings right now. She'd grow to know Narcissa and Draco more, and once they found something in common, it could be a happy family.

"Congratulations."

* * *

 ** _Luna's first year at Hogwarts._**

Luna stared at the letter written by her step-mother. Her father was dead. Dead. Gone. She looked up at the fellow first years in her house before turning her attention to her step-brother, who had a near identical letter in his hand. As he looked up their eyes met. She knew her were glossed over with tears, whereas his was filled with _glee_. A smirk made its way to his face before he mouthed ' _you're next'_.

Quickly turning her attention away from him and his cruel joke, Luna did her best to compose herself. She was no longer looking forward to Christmas which was only three weeks away.

Her world had completely shattered from that day on.

* * *

 ** _Luna's third year at Hogwarts._**

Luna stumbled back as Draco pushed her out of his way to the exit.

"Draco, seriously, I have a question."

He groaned but actually turned his attention to her. "What?"

"I don't have a dress for the ball, do you thi-" Luna drifted off as her step-brother began to laugh. Not a joyful laugh, but a cruel one. "Is something funny?"

"Yes. You. You actually think you deserve to go to the ball?" he asked, a smirk on his face. "You couldn't even get a date. Nobody wants you. You're nothing… in fact, you're worse than nothing. You're worse than a house elf, even."

Luna held in the bubbling tears. It wasn't the first time Draco caused her to cry, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her upset over his words.

"You're lucky Mother even bothered to send you something. I personally think it suits you. You can wear the rags while sweeping the floors," he spat.

She glared at him as best as she could but said nothing in retort. Instead, she held head high she walked past him.

"You can't tell me what to do here," she said, in a singsong manner.

She heard him behind her, but thankfully was able to walk away without interruption.

Unfortunately, she had barely gotten to her dorm when the tears did start to fall. Draco knew how to upset her, more than his mother did. In fact, she found it very therapeutic to help the elves clean the manor; they were very good company. Much better than the Malfoys ever were. This was something she was forced into doing since her father passed away, she was never treated like a daughter anymore, but more of a servant to the vile family she was trapped in.

"Miss Luna is sad."

Luna looked up at one of her favourite elves who was cleaning up the dorms. "Hi, Dobby."

"Miss Luna wants to dance at the ball?"

"I can't go Dobby, I don't have enough time to make a dress. My Stepmother said she'd send me one. She didn't want me to 'disrespect the family' by going in anything but what she selected. Unfortunately, the one she sent is absolutely hideous and old and..."

"Dobby can help?"

Luna looked at Narcissa's ex-house elf with compassion. She wasn't sure how well he could sew, but knew that either way, she would love his help. "Do you think we will have the time, the two of us, to make one?"

Dobby's eyes lightened up with utter glee and excitement. "Dobby will go get more help!"

The next thing Luna knew, her whole dorm was bustling with house elves. She vowed that one day she would repay them for their kindness.

* * *

 ** _On the way to the ball..._**

Luna couldn't have been more excited to attend the ball. The newly sewn dress was perfect, just like something she remembered her mum wearing… though, it was more her dad's style. The perfect combination in her opinion.

"Dobby, it's perfect!" she praised before turning once in the dusty rose-colored dress.

"Very pretty, miss." Dobby smiled, pleased to have been able to make Luna happy. "Ball starts soon. Miss Luna shouldn't miss it!"

A snap of his fingers magicked Luna's thick blonde hair into a very elegant updo that would make Narcissa herself jealous of. A subtle sparkle twinkled in the light from the decorative comb and pins that were used, she had just enough makeup on to dazzle and complement her blue eyes and dress. She was ready.

"I cannot thank you enough, Dobby," she said while slipping into her shoes.

"No trouble miss, as long as you're happy. Go, go now. You'll be late!" Dobby ushered her out of the room.

Luna lightly kissed the top of the elf's head before running out of her dorm and to the stairs. Making her way down the main flight of stairs as fast as she was capable in the small heels she wore, she got too far ahead of herself and tripped at the base of the stairs where her stepbrother just happened to be, stumbling right into him and his date.

"What's this?" Draco hissed, shoving Luna back onto the steps. "That is not what you were allowed to wear, Loony. I'll tell Mother, and she'll be very disheartened and upset that you hated the dress she gave you."

Luna carefully got to her feet, flinching from a fresh bruise forming on her leg. She couldn't care less about what Narcissa thought anymore, she was just as vile to her as her son.

Pansy Parkinson narrowed her eyes after looking over her own dress. "You nearly tore my gown you stupid girl!"

"I am sor-"

Pansy had her wand drawn before Luna could finish apologizing and cast a slicing charm. The sound of material harshly ripping filled the air around her ears. Seeing the skirt torn half way up at the seam, Luna looked mortified.

"No, stop! Please!" she pleaded, attempting to hold the skirt together so she could mend it.

Draco laughed at the scene unfolding, draping his arm over Pansy's shoulders. "Looks better already, wouldn't you say, Pans?"

"Of course," she agreed, a wicked smile on her face.

As Luna frantically tried to magically sew the damage, she heard Draco and Pansy sniggering as they walked off - it was just a bit of fun for them. She was never good at magically sewing things. With a sigh she knew she'd have to return to her dorm to manually sew the dress back together, after all, it was exposing more than just her legs.

Luna wasn't one to rush, even when she heard footprints heading in her direction.

"Miss Lovegood?"

Looking up at the sound of Professor McGonagall's voice, the third year smiled. "Good evening, Professor."

The Deputy acknowledged the greeting with a nod as her eyes glanced down. "What happened to your dress?"

"Just some fun for other students," she replied lightly. It did seem to bring Draco joy when he was mean to her.

It was obvious that Professor McGonagall did not approve of this type of 'fun' by the tight line her lips were making.

To defuse the tension, Luna smiled at her. "I was just going to sew it up. I feel like nargles help when you use a needle and thread."

Without a word, Professor McGonagall pulled out her wand, and with a small deliberate and delicate wave, Luna's dress began repairing itself expertly. "You shall go to the ball. And tomorrow I expect you to talk to Professor Flitwick regarding who ruined your dress."

"Thank you very much, Professor. I don't believe that would be necessary, though." Luna looked gleefully down at her dress, unable to be happy about the prospect of going straight to the ball.

Starting a conversation about a creature she had recently learnt about, Luna and Professor McGonagall walked to the ball together. By the time they'd arrived, the 13-year-old was back in happy spirits.

* * *

 _During the ball_

Staring across the room, Luna was completely lost in thought. She watched her fellow students dance around with one another with massive smiles on their faces. This was precisely why she wanted to come, to see the joy and feel it radiating from her classmates.

A shadow covered her face and caused her to look up at the older student. He towered over her in height, though couldn't have been much over. "Hello."

The boy jumped slightly and looked at her, almost stumbling over. He hadn't realised how close he had gotten. "Hi."

The genuine yet shy smile that appeared on the fellow students faces made Luna smile. "I'm Luna."

"Neville," he replied. Hesitation seeped over his features before looking at her more sheepishly. "Did you want to dance?"

"I'd love to."

* * *

Neither Luna or Neville knew that that dance would be the beginning of their lives towards a _Happily Ever After._


	2. The Rope

_**The Houses Competition, Year 2, Round 1. Writing for Hufflepuff, Year 3, Drabble.**_

 _ **Prompt: [Object] Rope.**_

 _ **Word count: 302**_

 _ **Beta: Aya, Magi**_

 _ **Summary: Suicide trigger warning.**_

* * *

Crabbe examined the braided rope. Such a boring item, one which he would never have paid attention to had he not wanted to use it. It was rather thick, wider than his finger - the size made it difficult to tie.

Most people didn't know that Crabbe was a good at tying knots. It was something he did a lot before he started Hogwarts. Though, Malfoy banned him from doing it at school. The Malfoy were important, a powerful family. Draco never messed up.

Crabbe, however, often did. He ate too much. He didn't pay enough attention. And was a disgrace to his family. He wasn't publicly shamed; that made things more difficult.

The fourteen-year-old took his time as he looked around his families ballroom. It drew a lot of life when his family hosted others. It wasn't usually visited unless there was a party. Such a big room, forgotten for most of the year - a bit like he felt.

To prove a point to himself, he noisily dragged a chair across the room into the perfect spot and placed his wand on the ground; he wouldn't be needing it.

Carefully stepping on the chair, he reached up and tied the rope around a support beam. He was almost able to smile at how well the reef knot came out. _Almost._

Slowly, he tied a second knot, a different knot. He wasn't sure if it had a name, though, that didn't really matter.

Sometimes, only sometimes, Crabbe wished he was born into a different family, or even born a squib. He feels like a squib sometimes.

"Goodbye," he said, his voice low and muffled like it usually was.

Crabbe put the rope around his neck, closed his eyes, and waited for it to all end.

 _Nobody even heard his last word._


	3. Chapter 3

**The Houses Competition, Year 2, Round 1. Writing for Hufflepuff, Year 3, Themed.**

 **Prompt: [Speech] "He/She/They was unconscious when I found him/her/them."**

 **Word count: 2338**

 **Beta: Aya, Jetta, Magi. (You three are the best!)**

 **Summary: Mildly AU.**

* * *

Peter would tell them no. He refused to help them! They weren't his friends.

"Oi, Pettigrew!"

Shivers went down the twelve-year-old's spine as he froze, not even daring to look behind him to confirm what he already knew. Rosier had found him.

"You owe us some information."

Rosier, Malfoy, and Avery came into his view, all towering over him. "I-I don't kn-know."

Malfoy scoffed. "You don't know?" His tone was patronising.

Rosier was the meanest out of all of them; everybody knew that… right? "You _better_ tell us Gryffindor's Quidditch plays now, or else."

It didn't take much imagination for Peter to know what 'or else' meant. From experience, and the wand slowly being drawn from Avery's robes, he knew very well what the punishment would be.

"I'm… I really _don't_ know! I pr-promise!" He wasn't lying. He really _didn't_ know.

That didn't make a difference. The Slytherin trio wanted to know, and who better to terrorize than a Gryffindor to get the answers?

"You best tell us tomorrow," Malfoy said, his voice menacing, but it was a chance for him to agree and get out.

All the chubby young boy could think was 'what would his friends do?'. And for the first time, he stood up for himself. "No. I won't tell you!"

Within seconds he felt his limbs being pulled out of their sockets and his throat closing in.

It wasn't long until he hit the ground with a thud, his vision blackening from the pain and the previous lack of oxygen.

Peter vaguely heard James' voice calling his name as he drifted off into unconsciousness.

* * *

The sound of voices were getting louder was giving Peter a headache, not to mention the blaring light piercing through his eyelids. He didn't want to wake up. He just wanted to stay here forever and not have to worry about anything.

The voices were becoming more clear and Peter started to recognise them. They were coming from Professor McGonagall and James Potter.

"The truth, Potter."

"He was unconscious when I found him," James stated with a determined tone. "And I _saw_ Malfoy, Rosier, and Avery leaving the scene of the crime! I know it was their doing!"

Peter opened one eye in time to see the professor's disbelieving look. It was as if she didn't consider all Slytherins were evil scum, especially those three. Should he let them know he was awake? And if he did, should he tell McGonagall the truth? What if they hurt him again?

James' groan of annoyance pulled him from his thoughts. "I'm telling you the truth! Do you think Peter just beat himself up?"

"I did not suggest that, Mr. Potter. However, seeing students near him is not concrete evidence that they did this."

"So you're not going to do anything? Just get somebody to read one of their minds!"

Oh, James was obviously getting angry now. It was _never_ a good idea to get angry at a professor. Especially if nothing came from him.

"Professor," Peter said, almost coughing due to his dry throat. "James is right. Rosier, Malfoy, and Avery were the ones who pulled their wands out on me."

James had jumped and was by his side with a glass of water in under a second. How he got there so fast _and_ picked up the glass without spilling it was something Peter could never manage to do. "Take it easy, Pete."

Peter looked at his friend with mild surprise. He _didn't_ want him to come to his defence with the truth? He accepted the glass and took a few sips. He was thankful that he was a wizard, because he barely felt any pain, and he knew that soon, there'd be none. "You weren't lying, James."

"I know. But you don't have to worry about that right now," James insisted with a smile. "Just focus on getting better."

With a genuine smile, and the sight of Professor McGonagall walking off, the twelve-year-old nodded. "Thanks, Jamie."

"Anytime, Pete." And then without missing a beat, he continued. "Okay, so, Sirius confirmed that Remus' secret _isn't_ anything to do with a girl. I was thinking it could be something muggle related?"

Peter thought about the new knowledge. If he wasn't meeting a family member _or_ a girl when he snuck out, who was he meeting? Unless…

"What about a boy?"

James' eyebrows raised in shock and then realisation. "Of course! Do you think it's Sirius?"

Peter pulled a face. "Ew. That would be _way_ too weird."

The two of them began to laugh at the thought of their two friends liking each other. Though, Sirius did flirt with _everybody_.

* * *

Peter leant forward to listen to James' current plan about getting Lily to like him. This one involved sneaking into the girl's dorms - which they've never managed - and putting rose petals everywhere. That was probably Peter's favourite so far. It was mild and actually romantic… well, the rose petals were, that is.

Peter was tasked with keeping Lily _out_ of her dorm and the Gryffindor common room for as long as possible. Seeing as it was nearly curfew, it seemed rather impossible to him. Either way, he'd at least try.

He watched the first few attempts of James and Sirius scrambling to get into the girl's dorms before walking out to the stairs. Perhaps he could just start a conversation with the ginger.

Luck had it, that he almost bumped into her at the portrait. "Lily!"

"Peter…" she started suspiciously. "What is he planning this time?"

"Nothing."

"That is very hard to believe. Let me past."

It was only then that Peter realised he was blocking the way. "Oh… uhm… well… can I just distract… I mean… talk to you for a moment?"

Lily sighed but agreed. "You have one minute."

"Perfect!" Peter almost cheered. He could occupy her time for a whole minute! That was awesome! Remus would be proud! Though, he did now wonder why Remus wasn't the one out here tending to this difficult task. He was much more charismatic and friendlier toward Lily than he was. He didn't think there was a full moon coming up, and their sixth year wasn't due to end for another three weeks so he couldn't be doing last minute homework.

"Peter?"

"Oh! Right! Hi."

Lily's expression softened. "Hi. What did you want to talk about?"

Right, he was supposed to be talking. "Can you give James a chance? Wait, hear me out!"

Lily, who had started to turn away, stopped and looked at him. "Go on, then."

"He is a really great friend. You know that right? He's always defending us?" he started, knowing he had to specify what he meant. "A lot of the Slytherins pick on me… mainly the seventh years now. James picks on them for _me_. Sure, he used to be a jerk to Snivellus, but he was young and stupid. We all were! I lost my pet cat! Seriously, I haven't seen her since our third year. If you find her give me a call. I still have hope that she's out there somewhere!"

"So… you want me to what? Forgive him? Date him? Find your cat?" She looked slightly confused with his rambling.

Peter shook his head. "No. I'm not a matchmaker. Just… I don't know. Give him a chance? Actually, use your eyes and see that he is, at least, a good friend."

Lily looked very skeptical. There was a long silence before she sighed. "Fine. But I'm not _ever_ going to date him."

"That's fine with me!"

Peter nearly cheered as he followed Lily into the common room. He might have just helped James out even more than he was asked. His huge smile faded as Lily was suddenly hit with a thousand rose petals straight to her face and body.

He guessed they couldn't get up to the girl's dorms.

* * *

Peter nervously walked into the Potters' cottage. He would tell them the truth. They needed to know. His friends needed to know what was going on.

"Peter! Take Harry, would you? He's being needy today, and I need to check on dinner."

Without a choice but to catch the one-year-old who practically threw himself at his 'Uncle Wormy', he smiled at the boy. "Hi, Harry."

"Wormy! Fly!"

He chuckled at the boy's excitement and looked for his friends. Though, he was curious as to why Lily didn't just hand her son to one of them instead. Then again, girls never made sense to him.

Peter would have been able to walk into the room unnoticed if it hadn't been for Harry's excited chattering. What the boy was saying made no sense to anybody apart from himself.

"There you are!" James greeted first with a broad smile. "I see Lily dumped Harry on you," he commented with a chuckle.

Yep. Peter has definitely missed something. Oh well, that wasn't completely uncommon.

"Wormtail, we wanted to talk to you about something," Sirius stated, sounding uncharacteristically serious.

Oh gosh. Did they know? Were they going to kill him? No, they wouldn't do that. Would they?

James' hand on his shoulder made him jump out of his skin. "Woah, calm down, Wormy."

"Hey! Only Harry can call me Wormy," Peter said jokingly, with as much strength behind his voice as he could - which wasn't much under these circumstances.

After the other two chuckled, he felt a bit better. "What's going on?"

"Well-"

"Wait!" James halted them and took Harry. "I don't want him to hear," he explained and walked out.

Ah, so that's why Lily had him. Though, the young boy didn't seem needy. Whilst he waited, Peter decided to sit down - he looked less nervous sitting down, at least, that's what Marlene told him once.

Sirius came and joined him on the newly purchased couch. "He's been very jumpy lately. Restless too."

"That makes sense with everything going on…" Peter drifted off and looked down. "Heard a girl younger than us was found murdered yesterday."

By the look on Sirius' face, he already knew that. "Yeah. She was a Hufflepuff in the year below."

It was worse when people added names.

"Right!" James announced as he walked in, completely interrupting the atmosphere and sitting down. "You know Sirius is my secret keeper?"

Peter waited for his friend to continue, that was a very obvious question. "Yeah, of course."

"Exactly! Everybody knows that he's my secret keeper! Do you know how stupid that was of me? To make _him_ my secret keeper?!"

"I'm sitting right here."

James waves his hand dismissively. Any other time, that would have had consequences, but Sirius remained in his spot. "I want you to be my secret keeper, instead."

Peter felt his heart stop. No. He couldn't be. He couldn't keep a _secret_! That was impossible! The number of times he told Slytherin the Gryffindor's plays was enough proof of that! "No, no, no! Not me! I-I can't!"

"Of course you can, Wormtail!"

He shook his head. "Seriously, I'm flattered, but no. You can't trust me!" He looked at his friends' faces. "I'm not joking. You can't trust me!"

James placed a hand on Peter's shoulder. "I will always trust you, Pete."

Peter's mouth opened in surprise at the shortened nickname - James hadn't called him 'Pete' since they decided on the name Wormtail. That gave him the strength to nod. He would not betray his friends. He would protect them. Just like they would for him.

* * *

How did he end up here? How did he let himself get captured by the same Slytherins who had tortured and picked on him for years? He should have known better. But Peter never learnt.

"Pettigrew."

Peter breath stopped as he turned to see The Dark Lord. This was the second time he ever saw him, and the first time didn't end well. The Dark Lord didn't like it when his 'subjects' didn't give him the answers he wanted. But, Peter wasn't a willing subject. That made things worse.

"You got some information I want."

"No."

He stumbled back as Voldemort swept forward, crossing the room towards him effortlessly. "Where are the Potters?"

Could he say no twice? His eyes fixated on the wand slowly being raised towards him. He could already feel the pain, yet no curse had been uttered. "I-I… they're…"

Voldemort's gaze intensified as he started to talk. The smirk was evident, though small.

"In hiding."

"Where?"

"Uhm…"

"Tell me!" he demanded.

Peter noticed several wands were now being pointed at him. All ready to fire a variety of curses or hexes at him. He was sure some of them would be deadly or unforgivable. He closed his eyes, ready to tell them everything, just to protect himself, when a hex jolted him back.

Landing on his butt was humiliating, but nobody paid any attention as The Dark Lord instantly killed the 'subject' who fired.

"Now. You were saying," Voldemort prompted darkly, his patience was wearing very thin now.

Everybody looked so scary from where he was standing. But how many of them were as scared as him? Well… not nearly wetting his pants, scared, but still terrified in one way or another. This wasn't the group he wanted to be associated with.

He had a choice, right? He could choose. Peter wasn't going to choose Voldemort and his gang of _followers_. Peter would choose his friends. Now all he had to do was tell the most powerful dark wizard of his time.

Closing his eyes, the Gryffindor pulled every ounce of courage he had and uttered one small word. "No."

It was the quiet before the storm. The silence before the shouts. The peace before the war.

A sudden scream of pain left Peter as the first round of the Cruciatus Curse was inflicted on him.

And even after the eighth time, he still refused to say anything.

Because friendship was the most important thing to this fat rat. And nothing, not even going crazy from being under the curse for too long, would change that.


	4. A Muggle Pandemic?

**Round 3 of the mini comp for QL. Keeper of the Portsmouth Plovers.**

 **Assignment: A pandemic**

 **Round 2 of the Houses Competition. Year 6 (Stand in) for Hufflepuff, Short.**

 **Prompt: [object] Potion vials.**

 **Word count: 1014**

 **Betas: Dark Angel**

* * *

Narcissa wasn't one to let her worry show, but when her only son, Draco, became ill, she couldn't keep her feelings contained. Should she call a healer? Or give him _more_ potions to make him better? Perhaps a healer would be the best option, after all, he only seemed to be getting worse. She picked up one of the potion vial, eyeing the purple contents. There must be something she could give him.

"Mama," the five year old whimpered from his oversized double bed. The green sheets made him look even more pale than he was - at least, that's what Narcissa hoped.

She put on a smile and sat on the edge of the bed, brushing his hair off his sweaty, hot, forehead. "Hey, little dragon. Did you sleep well?"

"I don't feel well," he complained, giving her a look of hopelessness that she hated. He depended on her. "Can I have more medicine?" he asked, pointing to the vials just out of his reach.

"You've already had more than you're supposed to," she explained, hoping he'd understand. The tears welling up in his eyes showed that he didn't care about how much he was supposed to have. "It could make you worse."

Draco shook his head before wiping his nose and eyes with the sleeve of his pyjamas - something that would usually get him told off for. "B-but… Mama."

Narcissa would not give in. Instead, with as much authority as she could muster, she picked up a cup of water. "Drink, little dragon, it'll make you feel better."

The five year old weakly pushed himself up into a seated position and accepted the cup. Slowly he lifted it to his parched lips and took a few sips. His eyes were almost drooping closed again - but at least he hadn't complained about his body aching this time.

"Are you hungry?" she asked, knowing he needed energy.

He started to shake his head, but before she had to chance to convince him to try something, the cup slipped from his hands as he attempted to stop the vomit erupting from his lips.

"I don't care what your father says, I'm taking you to St. Mungos. Three days is too long for a Malfoy to be unwell," Narcissa decided. She quickly wiped Draco's face and hands before picking him up. "Dobby," she waited for him to appear, "clean Draco's bed and tell Master Malfoy that I'm going to St. Mungos."

Without waiting for the inevitable reply from the elf, she strutted off. Flooing would be the best way to travel with Draco - she didn't want to make him any worse.

St. Mungo's was bustling; something was definitely going on. "Healer. My son isn't well."

The healer, a female in her twenties, paused what she was doing and looked at Draco. "Let's take him into a room."

Narcissa refused to let the healer take him from her and carried him into the required room. Reluctantly she laid him down on the bed, watching as he was examined. That began one of the longest nights of her life.

* * *

The following morning, after Lucius had told her how irresponsible she was to come here, they were finally told what was going on.

"What do you mean a pandemic?" Narcissa demanded, her eyes dangerously dark.

"Has someone cursed my son?" Lucius demanded.

The healer looked a lot less confident than she did a moment ago. "No, Mr Malfoy. We are currently creating a cure for the pandemic."

" _Creating_ a cure?"

Narcissa didn't even feel the need to stop her husband from letting the anger control him. It wasn't a pretty sight, but her child was ill, and this _person_ was telling her they couldn't help. "How did this happen?"

"It stems from one of the muggle illnesses that has been going around, so far, we have been able to fight it off enough. However, it has caused several deaths in the muggle world," the healer explained.

An older, and clearly more experienced healer, quickly interrupted their conversation before the other individual could continue. "My apologies for my co-worker. We have managed to keep your son from getting worse and are currently in liaison with a potioneer. It seems the muggle world has had a breakthrough. Your son is in good hands, and we will do everything we can to have him back to full health in no time."

It seemed she only cared about insurances. But the empty potion vials in her pocket and muggle needles in her hand told her a different story. They were planning on treating the children like _muggles_. How insulting. Though, Narcissa wouldn't make Lucius aware of this, even if it was insulting and beneath them; if it saved her son's life, it would be worth it.

Narcissa turned her attention to the room behind her when she heard Draco's voice calling out. Without hesitation, she left Lucius to deal with the healers and strutted into the room. He did look a bit better.

"Mama. I want to go home."

"I know, little dragon," she said softly, approaching the bed and sitting on the edge. "So do I. But the healers here will make you better."

Draco nodded. Even at five years old, he understood when to accept what was going on. "Was I bad? Is that why I'm ill?"

Her eyes widened slightly. "Of course not. It was those evil, filthy, muggles who did this to you. Their dirty blood has infected you and other wizards too."

The young boy gasped. "Why?"

"Because they are diseases. You must stay away from them… even Mudbloods, they might be wizards, but they're still infectious."

Draco nodded quickly, his eyes turning unfocused. "I promise I'll stay away from them! I won't let them turn me or make me ill again! I promise Mama!"

Narcissa hugged him, saddened that his head was still hot and sweaty. "Good boy. The healers will find a way to cleanse you. They will make you better."

She watched as her son closed his eyes and hoped it wouldn't be for the last time.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading!**


	5. Very Clever

**Round 2 of the House Competition. Year 6 (Stand in) for Hufflepuff, Drabble.**

 **Prompt:** **[First Line] The parchment he/she just received simply said very clever.**

 **Word Count: 337**

 **Betas: Dark Angel, Aya**

* * *

The parchment she just received simply said very clever. Hermione couldn't help but examine the owl which delivered it. She recognised him - or was it a her? As tempting as she was to tie a reply to the owl, she decided against it. Why would anybody send her such a cryptic message if it wasn't to mess with her head?

Hermione stroked the owl before watching it fly off. Owls were truly beautiful creatures. The way they glided was mesmerising.

* * *

It was the following day during the morning post that Hermione found herself ignoring Ginny and looking up.

"What are you doing?"

"Just looking."

"Harry and Ron are too busy this week to send us mail, remember? They're training to be Aurors whilst hunting the rest of the Death Eaters."

Hermione brought her attention back to Ginny. Though she spoke to Ron and Harry regularly, it seemed that Ginny always knew more than her. It was rather frustrating. Especially when the other girl presumed she already knew. "I haven't paid much attention to the owls in the school, that's all."

Ginny looked up before shrugging. "That's because you own a cat. Where is Crookshanks, anyway?"

Hermione once again turned her attention to her friend. "She likes to wander the castle and grounds. She sleeps on my bed every night though. Why?"

"I just never see her."

Crookshanks was a lot more adventurous this year at Hogwarts; then again, she was always running around. A fond smile made its way to her face as she remembered when her beloved cat continuously chased Scabbers. She always wondered if her pet knew the rat was actually a man. She supposed she could add that to the list of things she'd never know.

Although, the identity of the owls owner would soon become apparent as she spotted the owl. Brilliant. Ginny's next words were lost to her as the owl swooped down low and then landed in front of- No. It couldn't be- _Malfoy._ What was he playing at this time?


	6. A Bundle of Jealousy

Round 2 of the Houses Competition. Year 6 (Stand in) for Hufflepuff, Themed.

Prompt: [Event] Birth.

Word count: 927

Betas: Aya

Percy was excited. He'd be getting another little brother! He loved having a big family. His eyes we wide with pure excitement and joy as he waited with his other five brothers at home. He couldn't believe that Ron was asleep - who could sleep at a time like this?

It was happening. It was finally happening! After months and months of waiting he would finally get to meet him.

He looked over at his two older brothers, Bill and Charlie, they didn't look at him and were talking about Hogwarts. Neither of them were old enough yet. Percy would usually pester them for more information about the amazing school, but he didn't care to join in this time. The twins, Fred and George, looked like they may fall asleep but were doing their best to stay awake. They were only three. They didn't understand what was happening.

Ron, the youngest at the moment, definitely didn't understand. He went to sleep at his usual time without a fuss.

Percy leant back against the couch, staring at the clock. Why was it taking _so_ long! The five-year-old stifled a yawn as he listened his brothers talking. Even them talking about a 'giant squid' didn't keep his eyes from slowly closing.

* * *

Arthur took as many breaths as he could to keep himself calm. Baby number seven was going to be born any minute. He hazardously grabbed some small ice cubes for Molly - though, he didn't know why she wanted them - and rushed back into the little room.

"I have the ice!" he declared handing them to her.

Molly instantly poured one of the cubes into her mouth and started chewing.

Arthur was in awe at this - seeing his wife do something she'd never done before was always enlightening, there was still things about each other they didn't know.

He took her hand and smiled. "I love you."

"I love you, too," she replied with a tired smile.

This baby was taking its time coming out. It wasn't the longest labour yet, but for all they knew, it would be.

Molly's face screwed up as she squeezed his hand tightly. He couldn't help but let out a pained sound - she had a mighty strong grip.

One of the healers came over with a bright smile on her face. "Looks like it's nearly time. Next time you feel the pain, I want you to push."

Another healer came over to assist, wiping Molly's head with a damp cloth.

Arthur momentarily wondered if he was supposed to do that - he was sure he had in the past. He was pulled out of his thoughts quickly when the grip on his hand increased.

Seven minutes later, baby number seven was born.

* * *

Percy's eyes jolted open as he heard a sound. Not just a normal sound, but a baby's cry. He's here! He and Charlie shared a smile of amazement before stumbling to their feet to see their mum walk in with a bundle in her arms.

"What are you two doing awake?"

Charlie was the first one to respond. "We wanted to meet the baby."

Percy nodded in agreement, not even caring that the rest of his brothers were asleep. "What's his name?"

Their mum smiled fondly. "Her name is Ginny."

"Her? It's a girl?" Percy replied with a high level of confusion.

"Yes. Would you two like to hold her?"

Charlie nodded eagerly and sat down as instructed, carefully holding the newest arrival.

Percy, however, watched with mild disgust. His parents had always talked about wanting a girl. They _wanted_ a girl. Now that they had one… He paused his thinking and walked off, slowly going up the stairs and climbing into his bed. When nobody followed him, after a few minutes he went to sleep knowing things would be very different.

* * *

Percy had been right. Things were very different. It seemed almost instant that everything began to change. From the amount of attention he received, to the amount of _pink_ scattered around the house. It seemed _Ginny_ was too good for hand-me-downs just because she was a girl. She got more new things than anybody else… more than _everybody_ else combined. It wasn't fair.

Charlie and Bill always stuck together and kept each other company. The twins had their own little world. Ron was too little to play with. And Percy was all alone, stuck in the middle with nobody giving him any attention. It was all Ginny's fault.

Percy didn't care that he shouldn't blame everything on Ginny, but he wanted to. She had everything he wanted. Everybody loved her. She had all the attention she needed _and_ wanted. It wasn't fair.

"Mama," Percy called, walking out of his room. "Mama?" he repeated as he looked for her. Finally he found her in the kitchen. "Mama!"

"Not now, Perce."

He sighed and walked off to find his dad instead; maybe he could play with him. "Dad?" he questioned as he walked into the garden.

His dad looked up and hope filled the five-year-old. "What is it, Percy?"

"Can you play with me?"

The older man sighed. "Sorry, Perce, now's not the best time. Go and ask one of your brothers."

No matter how many times he asked, his parents never had time since Ginny came around. Thankfully, his _brothers_ were still good brothers and would let him play with them on occasions.

That didn't change the fact that his _sister_ stopped his parents from spending time with him.

Sometimes, when he was alone, Percy wished that Ginny had never been born.


	7. Ron was never good at time management

**The Houses Competition! Writing for Hufflepuff, Stand in Year 1.**

 **Category: Short**

 **Prompts: She/He/They had missed the last train and there was only one person she/he/they could think to talk to at three in the morning, too bad they broke up last week.**

 **Word count: 514**

 **Beta's: Pix, Aya, Zoe/Zetta**

 **Summary: Ron was never good at time management.**

* * *

He had missed the last train and there was only one person he could think to talk to at three in the morning, too bad they broke up last week. The worst thing was, Ron couldn't even blame her. Hermione, as always, had a very valid reason.

The 18-year-old sighed at how badly he had messed up his life. He thought that going up against the Darkest Wizard he'd ever meet was difficult, but keeping a relationship intact seemed just as problematic.

Ron contemplated apparating home but wasn't sure he wanted to risk Auror's arresting him. He couldn't believe he voted for the ban of apparating with prior consent unless you were on active duty as an Auror or Healer. Now he was completely stuck here, hours away from his house.

Would Hermione mind if he turned up and asked to use the Floo? They were still friends… at least that's what they agreed. Looking around, he couldn't help but feel that was the only option, unless he wanted to return to the ministry.

Ron shuddered at the thought of talking to Lavender again. How could a woman be that perky when working nights. And the constant flirting with him was extremely annoying.

Well then, Hermione it was.

* * *

The walk seemed longer and scarier than he remembered. He had always been so excited when he took this route, but now the ending wasn't a guaranteed happy one.

He slowed down when her house came into view. Maybe he should turn back… wait for the train in the morning, he wasn't working tomorrow anyway. Or face Lavender, she'd keep it a secret. Not that Hermione _wouldn't_ keep it a secret.

Ron was almost walking backwards when he got to outside her door and lifted his hand to knock. She would already know he was here, she always did.

Letting out all of the air from his lungs, he knocked.

As the seconds ticked by with no reply, Ron felt himself getting worried and confused. Was she asleep? Surely her perimeter alarms would have woken her up if she had been? Maybe she wasn't here? Where would Hermione have gone? Would it be rude for her to let himself into her house? Hermione would definitely kill him if he did the latter. As he contemplated knocking again, the door opened.

"What is it, Ron?"

Ron froze as he looked up at her. She looked flawless. Her hair slightly frizzy, a dressing gown wrapped around her delicate body, her-

"Ron!"

"What? Oh… I missed the train."

Hermione rolled her eyes before opening her door to him. "Don't make it a habit. I have work tomorrow."

Ron nodded, ashamed as he trumped into her house. He didn't even know what her work schedule was like anymore. He made his way to her fireplace before turning to look at her.

"I'm sorry." They both knew his sorry was a lot more than just missing the train.

"I know. How about we meet up on Thursday to talk about it?"

Hopeful, Ron nodded. "Thanks, Hermione. Good night."

"Night, Ron."


	8. A Friend In Need

**The Houses Competition, Hufflepuff, writing for Year 3 stand in.**

 **Bonus story, Disney Classics/Princess (The Little Mermaid). Prompt: Boomerang.**

 **Amazing beta: Aya.**

 **Word count: 1004.**

* * *

Luna walked by the beach, watching the angry clouds roll over each other slowly as they drew closer. It was going to be stormy tonight. A smile crossed her lips, it would be good to have the rain. She had thrown her boomerang half an hour ago, but it hadn't come back to her, so she decided to go for a walk to see if she could locate it.

It was easier to smile now that the war was over. Everyone seemed happier in general, and happiness radiated off them. Yet dealing with the loss of the fallen was a huge burden, sometimes it took over their smiles. Even Luna couldn't find her own smile during the mass funeral.

Her feet became wet as she walked into the water, the icy temperature making her thankful she was still here to experience the amazing view and feel the waves hitting her ankles. She had elected to leave her shoes and socks on the coast. If there was one thing she didn't like, it was sand in her shoes; she got that from her mother.

A flash of red caught her eye over by a collection of large rocks, and the 18-year-old couldn't help but be drawn to it in curiosity. As far as she knew, there wasn't anything like that on this beach. Maybe it was one of the creatures her father had spoken fondly about, or perhaps it was one she had yet to encounter. Either way, the possibilities enticed her.

As Luna got closer, the figure of a person was getting more clear. It wasn't long until she realised it wasn't a human, but a mermaid. This was the first time she had seen any at this particular beachside. "Hello!"

The mermaid turned suddenly, her red hair moving softly in the wind to reveal bright blue, startled, eyes.

Luna smiled nevertheless and continued her route towards her. "I'm Luna," she greeted in a friendly voice. The airy tone spoke louder than usual in order to be heard about the waves.

"I'm Ariel," the mermaid replied with a childish smile of curiosity mixed with hesitance.

"What brings you to this beach? I haven't seen you here before. In fact, I've only seen mermaids in the Black Lake."

Ariel's eyes widened, this time in excitement. "You've met other mermaids?"

Luna nodded before reaching her and sitting on the rock next to her. "Yes. You seem quite different from them."

"In what way?"

"Well… The mermaids I know try to drown you. And so far, you haven't done that," Luna replied with all of the explanation she needed.

Luna had been told she was too trusting in the past, but if you didn't trust somebody, especially when you first met them, then you are automatically closing the opportunity for friendship, knowledge, and understanding.

Ariel's mouth dropped open. "I would never do that! I don't know _any_ mermaids who would act that violently! It's the humans-" she suddenly stopped talking and looked at Luna, a thoughtful expression on her face. "I was always taught it was humans who hunted and killed mermaids, not the other way around."

Luna contemplated this piece of information. "That would make sense as to why mermaids in the Black Lake don't like us. It is something humans would do."

There was a long awkward silence after that statement. One which Luna wasn't completely aware of.

"What brought you to this beach?" Luna asked, still curious as to the sudden appearance of her.

"Oh! I was looking for my friend Flounder, he swam off when a shark came in this direction. But I couldn't locate him," Ariel explained looking down. It was then that Luna saw how young she looked. She couldn't have been older than 14 or 15. "I hope I haven't lost him, he's my best friend."

Luna couldn't help but instantly want to help and mentally filed through every spell she knew, there must be one she could use in order to assist her new friend out. "Can I help?"

Ariel looked up with a smile. "You would do that?"

Luna nodded. "Of course! Anything for a friend."

The smile of the young girl's face was inspiring. "Thank you! But.. how?"

Luna hummed in thought before smiling. "There's a bubble charm I can use, which will let me breathe underwater. It would take me a few minutes to remember how to cast it, though."

"Humans can do that?"

"Not all of them. I'm a witch," Luna revealed. There was nothing against telling a mermaid that.

Ariel waited a few moments before picking up an object. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"What is this?" Ariel asked, holding a curved object.

She grinned. It was her boomerang, she'd finally found it. Or rather Arial had. "It's a boomerang. If you throw it, it's supposed to come back to you." When Ariel looked at it in amazement, Luna added, "It's a fun game to play. Why don't you throw it and see if it comes back."

After a second of deep interest, the young mermaid did as she was told and threw it as hard as she could. They both watched in awe as it made a large oval before flying back towards them with force. Ariel ducked with wide eyes as it hit a rock and splashed in the water. "That's a bit violent."

Luna laughed. "You're supposed to catch it. It's a muggle invention."

"What's a muggle?"

"I feel like you have a lot of questions?" Ariel nodded. Luna smiled fondly, she loved answering questions and cast the bubblehead charm. "How about we talk whilst we look for Flounder?"

Ariel nodded. "Okay!"

"Lead the way?"

Once again, the younger girl nodded before jumping into the ocean, with Luna following her. Not once did Luna consider not swimming in her clothes or if she should follow a mermaid into the ocean. To her, there was no decision to make. Friends were important to have, and Arial needed to find hers.


	9. Why do I hate you?

**The Houses Competition. Hufflepuff, writing for Prefect 1 stand in.**

 **Bonus story, Star Wars. Using Prompt: "how is it possible to hate you this much?"**

 **Word count: 1018**

 **Beta's: Zoe (You're the best!) and Aya (Amazing too!)**

* * *

Bellatrix Lestrange ended up in an argument with someone she truly thought she'd get along with. You see, Bella had been teleported by a malfunctioning portkey to some strange world that appeared to be set somewhere in the future, or something. She'd woken up on a strange ship in outer space, and she wondered how muggles seemed to possess such magic. They'd somehow invented cars, and that was all she knew they could do. But here, they could do so much more here. She seemed to be out of place, as odd men in white armour traveled around her in groups. A few occasionally tripping. She had taken her chance and captured one of the strange men. She spoke to him.

"Where are we and what is your purpose?" She'd begun her string of questions. The person gulped and replied to her.

"We're on a ship ma'am, an imperial one. I'm a stormtrooper and we work for the empire, fighting against the rebels day by day." He saluted Bellatrix but she simply bombarded him with more questions.

"Who is the leader of your army?" Bellatrix asked, forcing her voice to be as commanding as it could be. The man shriveled up against the wall and Bellatrix smirked.

"L-lord Vader ma'am." He replied. She nodded, deep in thought. He squirmed under the silence of the situation, but he stayed still, fearing for his life.

"Take me to this Lord if yours," Bellatrix ordered the soldier.

He'd nodded and quickly escorted her to a set of doors that he passed through easily with an access card. When he'd motioned for her to step forward she did and was greeted by another silly man in an even more ridiculous costume. His was black with a series of buttons adorning it and had a strange domed thing on his head. It must be hard to breathe in it because his breaths were loud and labored. She had done all she could to bite back her laughter, for it wasn't the time nor the place to make fun of this strange man.

"Who are you?" They'd both said at the same time, Bellatrix's voice sharper than his.

"I am the Dark Lord of this world." At this Bellatrix laughed. She was wondering if her master was playing a trick on her, so she decided to ask a series of questions.

"Is your face and body scarred from a terrible accident in your youth?" She had begun with that. The "dark lord" replied with a curt nod and she continued.

"Is your main enemy a young boy with a group of friends and a rebel alliance behind him?" She asked, to receive yet another nod. She thought for a moment before speaking again.

"Do you have immense powers that none others can measure up to?" To this, she received another nod. She decided to ask a different question.

"What is your true name? Other than Dark Lord." She asked. To this, she got a pause, and then an answer.

"They call me Darth Vader." At this Bellatrix cracked up. This earned a jump from the stormtrooper who'd escorted her there, alerting her to his presence.

"I have no more use for you." She said, and she turned to face the man in white, gave a single flick of her wand, and had killed him plain as day. Er, night, er, whatever time it was, the sky was a bit dark seeing how she was in space...This earned a gasp from the so-called "Darth Vader", who'd only really gasped seemingly out of plot convenience. No matter the reason, Bellatrix turned back to the man and he spoke.

"You think you can kill someone with a stick and some magic trick?" He asked, almost sneeringly.

"Hmm. Let me help you command this army. They truly are pathetic if they can be defeated with… what were the words you used "with a stick and a magic trick" great rhyming by the way. Have you ever thought of becoming a poet?" She replied, sarcasm lacing her words. He came close to her, so close, that if he'd not been wearing a mask, she would've felt his breath on her face. Smelt it too, by the stench of his attitude there must've been the stench in his breath.

"Are you questioning my authority?" He asked, his tone raised, and fists in a ball by his sides.

"What authority? These so-called rebels run around like they own the place and you do barely anything. You aren't even a lord, anyway. And your attitude reeks as much as you do." Bellatrix replied, her words dripping with venom. This earned her a growl from the man standing opposite of her and she smirked.

"You know," she drawled, pausing for dramatic effect.

"I really thought...that we'd get along. You know, we're both evil, and desperate for revenge. We both serve under dark master's who we wish to be closer too and more like them so to earn their praise. I thought we'd get along well, our dark themes, we wear all black even. So tell me, how is it possible to hate you this much?" She asked, her words dashed with fire and venom, not a good combo. He looked back at her, and though she couldn't see his eyes, she knew she'd been pressing all of the right buttons. All of those brightly colored buttons that were present on his black costume. He turned around, in a fury and commanded his troops with such force just to prove her wrong. She spoke up, knowing he could do better.

"Oh darling, you could do better. Only taking the criticism to heart I suppose? Hmm, your people don't, FEAR you. Not even your lessers. You need to lead with fear, force even those better than you to fear you. Only then are you truly good at being bad." She said. Her voice dripping with sarcasm. She checked her stopwatch that she wore on her wrist. It'd been an hour. She touched a random piece of metal, and she was suddenly in darkness.


	10. Moments like this

_**THC. Hufflepuff, Year 2, Short. Prompt: "I miss moments like this more than anything."**_

 _ **Word count: 540**_

 _ **Betas: Aya!**_

* * *

Harry watched as Hermione rolled her eyes before collecting a book from a shelf in her office. She dropped it down on the table with a thud before flicking through the pages.

"I remember it being a village," Hermione started. A crinkle appeared between her eyebrows for a split second - showing that she was thinking intently. "Ah. Here we go."

Ron leant in closer, trying to read the words upside-down.

"Douaumont was one of the villages destroyed during World War 1," Hermione explained.

"I thought it was a muggle village we were investigating?" Ron questioned with a hint of confusion laced on his voice.

Harry looked at him, it was still surprising how he lacked knowledge about the muggle world. He thought being married to Hermione for five years would have educated him a little.

"It is," was Hermione's response. "It's in France."

That's what Harry suspected. There was no way the current attacks were from anybody in the UK, not with the targets. "What region?"

Hermione's eyes flicked over the page. "Grand Est."

Harry droned out Hermione when she had to start explaining regions to Ron. It was best to wait for him to understand roughly where they would be heading at some point to find more clues. Though, the village having been destroyed around a hundred years ago posed a lot more questions. It was a question that couldn't be answered instantly. He was sure Hermione would have some theories regardless. Even though they didn't work in the same department, when they did collaborate on ideas, it always brought a smile to Harry's face. He never intentionally sought out Hermione when he needed help, it just seemed to happen - at least, that's what he tried to make others believe. In honesty, he loves it when the trio are back together.

As he realised Hermione was finishing up her explanation, he cut in, wanting to catch her before she dismissed them. Yes… they have been dismissed in the past. She's a very busy woman now.

"I miss moments like this more than anything."

Ron looked at him like he was crazy. "Moments like this? Hermione was just telling me something I didn't know. Nothing to miss there."

Harry let himself laugh at that. "Exactly. The three of us crowding around a book to figure something out."

"More like Hermione telling us what she read."

"I miss it, too," Hermione joined in. "Even though we were fighting to stay alive most of the time. Hogwarts was my favourite adventure. It's weird not seeing both of you every day anymore."

Ron made a sound of indignance. "You _do_ see _me_ every day," he reminded her.

"It's different. It's just you and me - that's a whole different dynamic."

"Then… Harry should come over more," Ron decided.

Hermione nodded in agreement.

"Okay. When?"

"Tonight. Dinner's at seven," Hermione declared, no option to compromise before she put the book away. "See you both later."

Ron stepped towards Hermione and dropped her a quick kiss - something Harry still finds weird - before walking out.

Harry, deciding it would be pointless to argue with the dinner plans, said a quick goodbye before following Ron with a huge smile on his face. He had missed being ordered around by her.


	11. Sibling Rivalry

**Written for The Houses Competition, Hufflepuff.**

 **Year: Prefect 1, Stand in.**

 **Category: Drabble**

 **Prompt: "What do you mean you 'got married'? When? How? Why?"**

 **Word count: 451**

 **Betas: Aya (Thanks! You're the best!)**

* * *

Harry always loved the Weasley family dinners. Even when he had married Ginny and had three children, he still loved them. The happy chatter, laughter, and atmosphere was something so foreign to him for years. It was almost strange to think that it was now normal for him. But it was. A loud, cheerful, and exciting roast dinner with all of the family once a month was traditional. Nothing could ever ruin it… well… he did now have three grown-up children, they have ruined it in the past, but surely that wouldn't happen today?

Although, he could hear an argument brewing between Lily and James. Why did they always have to bicker? As the father, Harry knew he had to intervene and made his way over towards them.

"You're just jealous that _I'm_ in a relationship!" James spat.

Lily scoffed. "Me? Jealous? Never. Besides, I'm in a relationship too! A better one than you!"

" _Sure_ , if you call being with that pathetic piece of sh-"

"He is not pathetic!"

"He's a _Malfoy_ , he was born pathetic. Just like you are for dating him."

Lily's temper was growing but Harry was shocked with the prejudice coming out of his son's mouth. How could he think that was acceptable.

"You'll never marry that thing. I, however, will marry Louisa. In fact, we're engaged."

Harry's head snapped towards his son. He didn't know James was engaged.

"Yeah, well, Scorp and I got _married_."

"What do you mean you 'got married'? When? How? Why?" James demanded, obviously not believing his little sister.

Lily's immediate reaction was a smirk until Harry finally piped in from behind them. "I'd like to know the answer to that too. When did you get married, Lily?"

The utter dread on her face told him everything. She hadn't been lying, she really had married Scorpius Malfoy.

"Well… it was… spontaneous," Lily slowly tried to explain.

"You're only Eighteen!" Harry exclaimed. Why his daughter thought running off and getting married without him, without even _telling_ him was an option? Let alone a good idea was beyond him. He couldn't help the anger fill him.

"How could you be so irresponsible?" His head snapped towards his smirking son. "I don't know why you're smiling James. I'm not too happy with you, either."

Harry took a breath, he had two children staring at the ground, and the rest of his family silently staring at him.

"You two. Home. To your rooms." He waited a full second. "Now!"

They simultaneously apparated out with two pops.

"Harry…" Ginny started.

Harry simply apparated out straight away without letting her finish her sentence. He needed to clear his head and work out how to approach his two children.


	12. A game called Poke-her

**Written for The Houses Competition, Hufflepuff.**

 **Year: Prefect 1, Stand in.**

 **Category: Drabble #2**

 **Prompt: [Word] Poker**

 **Word count: 337**

 **Betas: Aya**

* * *

"Daddy! I wawwa pway a game!" 22-month-old Lily Luna begged as she rubbed her tired eyes.

Harry smiled at his daughter. They were on holiday for the first time with Lily, and the toddler had been adamant that she wasn't tired. It was clear to everybody else that she was. Even Al, who was usually more stubborn, had resigned to bed an hour ago. Harry looked at Ginny, he was never for the idea of 'let them stay up as late as they want on the first night' idea. It would only lead to disaster.

Ginny's innocent smile meant he had to think of a game for a tired daughter.

An idea popped into his mind. "How about a muggle game."

"Ooooooooh," Lily sounded with wide eyes.

"It's called Poker."

Ginny head snapped towards them. Hermione had taught them all poker last year, but that wasn't exactly what Harry had in mind now.

"Come here," he said, picking Lily up and standing her on the table. "Now, what is the game called?"

Lily looked thoughtful for a few seconds. "Poker!"

"Exactly… Poke-her." He said, poking his daughters' sides making her laugh with glee.

Ginny looked thoroughly relaxed that he wasn't actually teaching them the game.

Harry made a point to look at his watch for a long time.

"What you wooking at, Daddy?"

"The time?"

"Why?"

Harry smiled, he loved that question sometimes. "Well, the later you go bed, the later we wake up. I'm just trying to work out if we have enough time for swimming tomorrow or not."

Lily jumped off the table, thankfully being caught by Ginny. "Night, night! See you for swimming!"

Harry grinned. "Night, princess. See you tomorrow."

As Ginny walked out with Lily, Harry turned his attention to his oldest son.

"Don't think that will fool me."

"Candy?" Harry questioned, holding out a lollipop.

It took exactly eight seconds before James took the bribe and happily skipped off to bed.

10pm was just too late to look after children.


	13. Mistakes

**Written for The Houses Competition, Hufflepuff.**

 **Year: Prefect 1, Stand in.**

 **Category: Themed**

 **Prompt: [First Line] Seeking shelter from the storm was the first of many mistakes that day.**

 **Word count: 2,038**

 **Betas: Aya**

* * *

Seeking shelter from the storm was the first of many mistakes that day. Who knew that ducking into a stores doorway would have started such a dramatic day for the recently graduated Hermione Granger.

Being in such a rush to not get her newly bought books wet, she hadn't looked at what reading material she even chose as she looked out onto the quickly emptying street. It seemed that the storm had come from nowhere – in the back of her mind she hoped it had nothing to do with Dark Magic. Hermione had had enough of that sort of thing whilst at school. Hopefully, it was just a normal storm.

She heard somebody clear their throat behind her. Turning to address the person, she was met with a shock of platinum blond hair. Hermione quickly realised she was blocking Draco's exit _out_ of the store.

"You know you can't apparate until you're at least a meter away from the door of a store, right?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Hermione nodded, trying to think of a reason for stalling. She didn't think saying she had just been in Australia visiting her parents, who doesn't even know they spent three days with the daughter they didn't know about –and had to hide magic from them and everybody else – so she forgot to simply apparate home when the storm started would have been a suitable response to her ex-classmate.

"I was thinking about doing some more shopping." She didn't realise it at the time, but this lie was her second mistake of the day.

Draco nodded understandingly and stepped closer to look out at the weather. "Doesn't look like it's going to die down soon."

She nodded in agreement, also taking a glance out at the weather again, whilst trying to work out on a scale of one to ten how awkward this conversation was. Hermione could swear that they had gotten on comfortable speaking terms whilst studying at Hogwarts for their final year; their redo of seventh year. He had redeemed himself in her eyes, showed her who he really was… or at least, who he _wasn't_. Draco wasn't the bully he once was, he didn't enjoy tormenting others, he was just a lost little boy following in his parents' footsteps. Hermione was once determined to be a dentist like her parents, then she turned eleven.

In a lot of ways, talking to the newly redeemed Draco should have felt normal, just like they did at Hogwarts. Then again, out in the real world, where you couldn't simply discuss the school you attend of the homework, was a completely different atmosphere. Hermione didn't imagine that she'd see the bluey-grey-eyed male on a day to day basis. In fact, she expected it to be months before this type of interaction occurred and there would be a lot more they could discuss. However, it had only been ten days, and they were talking about the weather of all things.

"I see you brought the new Lockhart book?" Draco asked, looking down at her arms.

She followed his eyeline once more, having been really excited about the story of how Gilderoy Lockhart had redeemed himself in the magical community. Sure, he couldn't remember that he was a slim ball, but he was really living up to who he pretended to be. Though, now she just felt ridiculous. She was carrying the books just like her first year at Hogwarts instead of placing them into her enchanted bag, which was currently draped over her shoulder. Had she done that, she wouldn't have even thought about hiding from the storm. Hermione didn't mind getting wet once in a while, in fact, it did feel nice on occasions.

"Yes. I'm considering going into Magical Law at the Ministry."

"Oh?" Draco sounded surprised. "You haven't decided your career path?"

That was her third mistake. "No… Well… I couldn't decide. There are so many options. So many different paths. I don't want to simply choose one, I want to make a difference, I'm just not sure where I want to start."

Draco nodded. "You are in a position to make a bigger difference than others. The spotlight is still shining on you."

Hermione tried to work out what emotion was coming from him, but couldn't. There was one thing she knew, it wasn't a negative emotion. There was no hate, envy, disgust, or jealousy in his tone. "You're right. That's why I don't want to simply throw away the opportunities I have. Ron and Harry don't understand, they simply keep reminding me how incredible I am." She sighed. "It's not helpful."

"If you want, I could help you go through all of the options? I promise I'll be impartial and won't call you 'incredible'."

Hermione chuckled. Her fourth mistake that day was agreeing to go back to his apartment.

* * *

Hermione had forced herself to keep her eyes open as Draco apparated them to his apartment – it helped her to keep balanced as they landed. She looked around his living room with mild surprise. Hermione almost hadn't believed him when he said he didn't live at Malfoy Manor anymore, but still expected wherever he lived to look the same as it did.

In fact, as she tried to casually examine his home, she decided it didn't really look like a home at all. Everything appeared pre-brought, with little or no personal touch added to it. "How long have you lived here?"

"A few weeks," he answered as he walked out of the room, returning a few seconds later with ink and parchment. "I bought it straight after we graduated. I just couldn't bring myself to stay at the Manor without my parents, especially after everything that happened there."

Hermione nodded understandingly. She couldn't find it in her to visit her childhood home either. It just feels so empty without her parents there. Then again, she didn't even want to think about Draco's childhood home, so there were two reasons she'd understand about him not wanting to live there.

Draco took a seat in one of the cream chairs, resting the parchment and ink on the table. Hermione decided to occupy the adjacent matching chair with the table between them. She watched as he delicately dipped the edge of the quill into the black ink before looking up at her. "Should we start with your top five options?"

* * *

After three hours of discussing all the options she could take, Hermione looked over the now overfilled parchment as Draco went to make some hot chocolate. That's right, Draco Malfoy, the boy who had followed his parents into becoming a Death Eater, was making hot chocolate for the both of them. She didn't say anything, but she secretly hoped they came with marshmallows.

They didn't. It was potentially a little too much to even imagine Draco putting marshmallows in their hot chocolate. But, it was a fun thought and wishful thinking at least.

Hermione accepted the steaming hot mug with a deep breath. She opened her eyes, having not realised she closed them, and looked at him.

"What?" he asked curiously.

"I just didn't imagine you as a hot chocolate person," she admitted.

Draco's lips turned upwards. "There's a lot you don't know about me."

That was certainly true. "Then… tell me something about you I don't know."

The male sitting across from her paused in thought before setting his eyes on hers. "When I was younger, six years old to be precise, I couldn't swim. My father insisted on me having playdates with Pansy even though I hated her. She hated me too." His eyes drifted from hers and stared at the wall as he retold the event from his past. "It was cold out, November, I think. Pansy was bored, we both were, and she thought it would be funny to push me into a lake. She knew I couldn't swim. I was terrified. And unlike what people say, there was no enlightenment period where I learnt how to swim, no accidental magic to save me that day. When I didn't come up, she actually dived in and pulled me out. I always hated how she was so good at swimming."

Draco paused to look at her. Hermione wondered if he was going to continue or not. She always found it so difficult to know what he was thinking. Why did he have to be so complicated?

"A few months later on a hot day, she pushed me in again. This time, however, she jumped in straight away and forced me to learn how to swim. It was the most scared I have ever been. I thought she was trying to kill me. But, I learnt. Pansy never gave up, never let me stop until I perfected it." He let out a chuckle. "Perfection back then is a lot different to now, I'm not the best swimmer, but I can survive if needed." Draco paused again. "That's when she redeemed herself in my eyes. When I began to think of her as a friend than an annoying girl."

Hermione smiled at his story, she wasn't sure why he told her all of that when she asked for a fact about him, but wasn't going to complain. Perhaps he just wanted to share that. "And you became friends?"

"Nope. She still hated me. Apparently, Pansy wanted to make sure I wasn't a pathetic idiot who couldn't swim in case she was forced to marry me. Even when we _did_ become friends years later, she never changed her answer."

A chuckle left Hermione's lips. Even though the war was over and everybody was supposedly living in perfect harmony. Most people remained within their former friendship circles. The only reason Hermione had ever even spoken to Draco was because they were Head Girl and Boy together. But, she had never even considered talking to Pansy, or anybody else in Slytherin. The worst thing about it was, it was unintentional.

"Are you thinking about the rest of your shopping?" Draco inquired lifting his drink to his lips.

Hermione looked up in confusion, being pulled from her thoughts and not catching up quick enough to work out where his mind jumped too. "What shopping?"

Draco lowered his mug from his lips. "At Diagon Alley," he prompted.

"I only went there for the books," she replied before remembering her earlier lie. As she realised her mistake, she saw that Draco had also come to the realisation that he had been lied to. It wasn't as if their dynamic wasn't tense already.

"I see."

"That… that wasn't what I meant. I-" Hermione faltered. Even the thought of lying to cover up her previous lie was beyond her, but the truth seemed too silly to say.

Here sat the former death eater and brightest witch of their age. Draco, full reformed, kind, helpful, and hot chocolate maker. Hermione, a hypocrite and liar. She fought for equalities on all levels, fought against the enslavement of House Elves, against prejudice, yet was found guilty of not allowing Slytherins the chance to fit in, of lying as the first response, of taking up somebody's hospitality with nothing to offer them. She had never felt so ashamed.

The air was thick with tension, and Hermione couldn't think of how to redeem this situation. She wanted to ask how Draco managed to redeem himself, but only felt as if she'd be using him. "I should get home, I have a few application forms to fill in."

Draco nodded and stood up at the same time as she did. "I'll see you out."

They walked to his front door in silence before pausing. "Thank you for your help."

"You're welcome."

The seconds ticked by slowly, his breath tickling her cheek. Draco's eyes flickered to her lips before he pulled open his door.

"I'll see you around."

"Goodbye."

As she stepped out the door, she felt the urge to turn around and talk to him for a little bit longer, but knew that would be a mistake. She had made so many mistakes today, but now decided that ducking out of the rain _wasn't_ the worst mistake she could have made that day.


	14. It's not illegal

**Written for The Houses Competition, Hufflepuff.**

 **Year: Prefect 1, Stand in.**

 **Category: Short**

 **Prompt: [Speech] "Literally everything about this is illegal."**

 **Word count: 630**

 **Betas: Aya**

* * *

James slowed to a stop at the end of the corridor, poking his head around the corner slowly. He gave a mute nod before continuing. Three silent figures followed him. A smirk graced his lips as they approached McGonagall's office; whoever said the Marauders couldn't be quiet were mistaken - how else did they think they set up pranks?

James locked eyes with Sirius and paused – time to split up. Taking the bag of tricks from Peter to hand off, Sirius gave him a mock salute before heading left with Peter to keep watch. Remus came up beside him with a mild disapproving look.

With a light chuckle, James continued to their destination with one of his best friends close behind him.

"Here we are," he spoke softly, his voice echoing through the corridor. "Why do things always seem louder at night?" he asked rhetorically before adding. "Don't answer that."

Remus' mouth was half open as he turned around, obviously ready to answer the question. "Can we be quick?"

"What's your rush?"

"Literally everything about this is illegal."

James scoffed. "No. It's just against the rules, _not_ illegal."

Remus took a very deep breath. "Breaking and entering is illegal, even if it's in the school we sleep in."

"I don't recall breaking anything," James replied smugly, twirling his wand around in his hand. After all, why would he break the door when he can just use Alohomora? Remus' logic made no sense sometimes.

The charm worked effortlessly as the office door creaked open. Slipping in quietly, James took the lead and began pronouncing the relevant charms. He knew Remus was waiting to tell him how this was a bad idea again, before relenting and helping out.

James indicated for Remus to assist him with the finer details - he was always the best at making sure all the pranks were safe.

"Before I do this," Remus started, taking a dramatic pause before continuing, "I should stress that I greatly disagree with it. Pranking our Head of House is not the brightest idea you've had. She could expel us!"

"Minnie wouldn't do that," James scoffed. He glanced at his friend. "Hurry up with your high and mighty speech, remind me that it's not legal, and get on with it. The longer we're here, the more likely we _will_ be caught."

Remus sighed but simply helped out. "Fine, I'll rant later."

"That's my boy!"

Remus rolled his eyes before pulling the merchandise out of his pocket and helping set it up.

James grinned. "This is so easy. Next time we should–"

"No!" Remus exclaimed suddenly, interrupting him.

Both of their eyes widened as they heard a noise outside and within seconds James pulled his invisibility cloak over the both of them. Looking at each other, they knew it was time to get back to their common room.

Slowly they made it out of Professor McGonagall's office and down the corridor silently. James was already grinning to himself; they had successfully gotten away from it. However, this time, he celebrated easily. Though he and Remus were safe from detention, a very angry McGonagall had found Sirius and Peter slinking the halls.

Sharing a look, Remus and James slowly took a different route back to their common room. There was no point them all getting caught - besides, Sirius had let them all get caught a few weeks back. Revenge was sweet.

A stray exploding mouse unknowingly slipped from James' pocket. Landing on the floor, it started to squeak loudly while darting around the corridor in the opposite direction. Running into the wall, the thing promptly exploded into a pile of confetti. Cover completely blown from the abnormally loud toy, the pair bolted in a feeble attempt to dodge what they knew was coming for them.


	15. Who said Divorce?

**QL, Wanderers, Beater 1, Round 1.**

 **Prompts:**

 **Write a writing style you've never written before - Letter Fic.**

 **Divorce (word), Homemade (word), Knife (object).**

 **Word count: 1013**

 **Betas: Aya**

* * *

 _Dear, Hermione,_

 _I know we left things in a bad place, most of the blame is on me. There is no point in apologising as I know it was for the right reason. It would have been wrong for me to not intervene, after all, prejudices exist against Purebloods just as much against Muggleborns now._

 _The prospect of a divorce is making me want to apologise regardless and join your side in believing I acted irrationally and only sided with the witch because of her blood status. However, it is not something I am planning on doing – I'm going to stand my ground, just like you are._

 _My stubbornness wasn't going to get in the way of me making the first contact, one of us needed to and I'd happily be seen as the one who cracked first to have communication with my wife again._

 _I've returned to our home. It's a lot colder without you. Even the homemade pieces of furniture doesn't feel the same without you. After all, you were the mastermind behind them, and I'm still hesitant around electricity._

 _Love, Draco._

Hermione had held back the tears reading his letter. A few chuckles developed in her throat – she had hoped he'd apologise, then she could simply forgive him and everything would go back to normal. However, him making the first move put a reluctant smile on her face; she really had missed him.

Out of pure stubbornness, she picked up a knife and finished cutting up her vegetables for dinner before picking up her quill to reply.

 _Dear, Draco._

 _The fight may have emerged from your decision to side with Parkinson during the fight, but it evolved into much more than that. There is a lot of history which was never fully resolved between us two. I've noticed that it peaks up to the surface at random intervals. The overall problem was your unwillingness to discuss the past at all with me. Not even our time at Hogwarts before the war. I know the memories aren't the happiest, but it does matter. At the end of the day, our pasts brought us to where we are now._

 _My mind never even considered divorce. I'm shocked it crossed your mind though… I know we both Apparated out, but I hope a fight over something like this isn't going to be our tipping point._

 _Our home did seem way too cold without you. I only recently left it again when you didn't return. Unlike you, I found comfort in our homemade furniture, especially the stool in our bedroom. Though I wouldn't recommend using it as a stool right now, it looked unstable under Crookshanks weight. We'll have to reinforce it at some point._

 _Speaking of Crookshanks, is he doing okay?_

 _With love, Hermione._

Hermione's eyes scanned over her letter before tying it to Draco's owl and watching it fly off.

Hearing a noise behind her, she quickly grabbed the knife and chopping board and put them in the sink.

"'Evening, 'Mione."

"Hey, Harry," she replied with a smile before turning away. She didn't know why she felt she should hide the fact she was communicating with her _husband_ , but there was a lot going on with him and Ginny right now, and it didn't feel right to openly repair her relationship when one of her best friends was currently having trouble as well.

It was barely two hours later when the next letter came back.

 _Dear, Hermione._

 _We should be looking at the present, or even the future, not the past. The past is irrelevant._

 _Divorce did not cross my mind, I bumped into Ginny Weasley who reminded me that divorce was a more openly acceptable concept in the muggle world. I would never dream of ending things between us unless that is what you truly wanted. I will do what it takes to make our marriage work._

 _Unfortunately, the stool does not appear to be salvageable unless I intervene with magic. Crookshanks is very healthy – the automatic food dispenser is still working, I refilled it this morning – and may have jumped on our creation one too many times. Perhaps a second try at that particular object would be more successful. Unless you wanted to go shopping, of course._

 _Yours, Draco._

Hermione stopped after the second paragraph. Why would divorce be on Ginny's mind? Perhaps she _should_ intervene with her friend's relationship.

With her friends in the forefront of her mind, she pocketed the letter without getting to the end: Her relationship could wait an evening.

It wasn't until the following morning, right after having homemade pancakes did Hermione return to the letter. She was feeling uncertain about Harry and Ginny's relationship, and her fears were now transferring onto her and Draco's. It was clear to see her insecurities in the letter.

 _Dearest, Draco._

 _Divorce will always be the last option on my mind, even after murder. I am not the type of person to give up on somebody I love. We both have lost too much and too many friends to willingly step away from one another without at least giving it everything we have._

 _Neither of us should have Apparated away out of anger. I am ashamed to admit that I had even forgotten about Crookshanks for the majority of our separation this last week._

 _I don't want you to ever trouble your mind with thoughts of divorce. I don't see us ever following that path. Even though we're apart right now, I still have a lot of hope for us and don't want you to ever think otherwise._

 _Only yours, Hermione._

Hermione wasn't shocked when his reply came back within 45 minutes. She felt bad for the poor owl who obviously didn't get a rest.

 _Hermione,_

 _We'll talk about our past. Just please come home._

 _Forever yours, Draco._

Hermione glanced towards where she knew Harry and Ginny were currently talking, and not wanting to interrupt them – or get in the middle of things – so she Apparated back home and back to her husband.


	16. A little swim never hurt anybody Right?

**QL, Wanderers, Beater 1, Round 2.**

 **Prompts: "Aww, does somebody need a hug?" and Forest Green.**

 **Word count: 1256**

 **Betas: CUtopia, Aya Diefair**

 **Warning: Near death experience.**

* * *

 **A little swim never hurt anybody... right?**

* * *

James Potter sauntered out of Hogwarts and towards the Black Lake, feeling the heat of the sun rays hitting his face as the light reflected from the surface of the water. It was his first year at this overly-strict school and it was time to have some fun! He had been here a whole _nine_ days following all of the rules and ridiculous structure that it got quite dull real fast.

The eleven-year-old boy would not be contained and he was determined to make a name for himself. Just as he started to undo his neatly done up tie, he froze. He hadn't been the first to take up the opportunity of the sun and jump into the lake – Sirius was already floating around the lake as if he owned it. James almost wanted to sulk – he wasn't used to not getting his own way – but soon found himself grinning and running towards the lake to join Sirius with a leap. He knew he was going to like him. They had the same minds!

"Ahh!" Sirius yelled as he was splashed.

James let out a chuckle before submerging himself underwater and enjoying the refreshing coolness of it move around him. He opened his eyes to enjoy the view as well as the feeling… however, it wasn't as clear as he imagined.

Resurfacing, James shook his head. "This water's filthy!"

"What did you expect?"

"To be able to see… it's all… green." James didn't bother to hide the disgust in his voice. This was not what he'd imagined the infamous Black Lake to be like. Now he was even doubting if there was a giant squid or not hidden in its depths.

Sirius shrugged carelessly. "It gets clearer the further you go down."

"That I have to see!"

The two eleven-year-olds dived into the murky water and descended through the water with a new energy and excitement. James was thrilled when the water cleared up and he finally saw the wonderful sea life he had expected. The underwater forest was his biggest surprise – that must have been why the top layer of the lake was forest green.

They both resurfaced simultaneously for air. "Told you! Only a few meters before it clears!"

"With an amazing forest too!"

Sirius shrugged and began to swim further out. James was hot on his heels.

"How deep do you think it is?"

"Can't be too deep," he theorised as they both stopped swimming and looked into the forest green murky water.

James looked at his new friend, and as an idea formed in their minds, they both slowly started to smile mischievously. "Race you to the bottom!"

With all of the excitement, adrenaline, and competitive thoughts running through their mind, they both dove a second time heading towards the bottom. However, neither of them considered how long it'd take to swim back _up_ to the surface. It was only James slowing down to admire the scenery that caused him to take a moment to realise that he needed to take a breath.

Looking upwards, James felt a hint of panic before looking for his friend. Why was Sirius still going! And into the forest! James forced his panic to dissipate as he followed his friend into the different layers of green which made up the amazing underground adventure.

At this moment in time, James discovered that he was a faster swimmer than his friend and that alone made him speed up and regain all the energy he had lost. He grabbed Sirius by the arm and forced him to stop before pointing upwards. They were both completely submerged in the forest, branches, vines, and seaweed.

Sirius thankfully nodded and started to make his way back towards the surface. Though, it seemed that his friend was able to hold his breath longer than him, James was already struggling to breathe, or even find the strength to kick his legs. Why wouldn't they move? Why were they so heavy? He knew what he had to do, knew he _needed_ to get out of the water. But his body wasn't cooperating and the water appeared to be clouding his vision. Unfortunately, he felt like it had nothing to do with the greenness of the forest. His stomach tightened and the urge to throw up and gag simultaneously wasn't helping. He just needed to breathe. But by now his mouth was hanging open, the once tranquil water was filling his throat and burning his lungs. The last thing James remembered thinking about was his mother. The way she'd always rescue him when he did stupid things like this. Shout at him for an hour before wrapping him in the fluffiest blanket he had ever been wrapped in.

Right now, as he slowly began to lose consciousness, he wished he could hug her again, to hold on to her with all of his might and never let go. James didn't want to be at Hogwarts anymore, he just wanted his mum.

* * *

James spluttered out water as he sat up with a start. His lungs felt like they were burning and his eyes were stinging with tears. He refused to cry, though, and as he tried to calm down, he heard somebody else spluttering for air next to him; it was Sirius.

"That was very stupid," a deep voice stated calmly.

Upon raising his head, James was very surprised to see a large and tall Ravenclaw standing above them with his wand out. "I want my mum," he breathed out. He didn't care how whiny he sounded in front of the older student, his mum would make _everything_ better.

"Aww, does somebody need a hug?" Sirius teased. He looked like a drowned rat and was bent over on his hands and knees, but he didn't appear to be emotionally affected by nearly dying. How could he act so casual?

Little did his friend know that a hug was _exactly_ what he needed.

The older boy knelt down. "If you ask to see your mother, it will get around school." James looked up at him. "You did a very stupid thing swimming in the Black Lake… but it was brave. Let the school remember _that_ version of you."

The last thing James wanted to care about was his reputation. However, he would at least try to wait sometime before demanding to see his mum. He internally promised himself he'd wait a day before speaking to the headmaster. Realising that the Ravenclaw was waiting for a response, he simply nodded.

"Let's get you both inside before a professor discovers that you—"

"That they almost drowned?" Professor McGonagall interrupted. "James and Sirius, 5 points from Gryffindor for your complete disrespect for rules and putting yourself in danger. Each. And you'll get detention for your stupidity. Kingsley," The professor paused. "10 points to Ravenclaw for saving the lives of two students."

James couldn't even feel compelled to argue back over being given his first detention. He was simply happy to be alive with the chance of seeing his mother again. The thought of only serving a detention and not expulsion had him thinking… what else would he be able to get away with without being harshly punished?

He looked at his friend who looked even less concerned at being given detention than himself. Surely Sirius would be up for a few more adventures. The only restriction was that he made it home for Christmas to give his mum the biggest hug possible.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading.**


	17. Girls night out - All fun and games

**QL, Wanderers, Beater 1, Round 3.**

 **Theme: Girls just wanna have fun**

 **Prompts:**

 **(dialogue) "Pay attention to me."**

 **(emotion) fear**

 **(object) glitter**

 **Word count: 2048**

 **Betas: Aya, Carmen, Abi.**

* * *

"Look at me. Focus on me! Pay attention to me!" she pleaded, looking down at her friend. This couldn't be happening. It was just supposed to be a bit of fun. She looked around in fear, looking for somebody, _anybody_ to help, then let out a breath. "Keep calm. Focus."

Ginny shouldn't have let things get so out of hand, but now Cho was unconscious on the floor and she wasn't sure what to do.

She looked around, trying to keep her breathing controlled to lower her heartbeat, but it was useless. The young adult tried to reason with herself, she had been in a war, and yet, her mind was blank.

Picking up her wand from where she had abandoned it on the floor a few moments ago, she sent a Patronus to her husband. He would be able to help.

Ginny sighed, wiping the tears that were falling down her cheeks. This day had started so well. It was just supposed to be a fun girls weekend.

* * *

 _That morning._

Ginny hadn't been able to stop smiling for the past twenty minutes as her friends all started to turn up. Everybody had been so busy since graduating Hogwarts that it was very difficult for everybody to get together unless it was a wedding – and even then not everybody could make it for the entire thing. However, with her expert planning, Ginny had managed to arrange a whole weekend for the girls. There wasn't a specific reason, no big announcement or special occasion. Simply the chance to reconnect, let loose, and have fun.

Cho, Luna, and Hannah were already there when Ginny had arrived, and she took immediate notice on how much they've changed since their school days. Cho looked the most different out of the three of them; her hair was lighter and she appeared a lot happier and full of life. Hogwarts and the war took a big toll on her, so Ginny was glad to see that she had recovered well.

Hermione walked in and made a beeline for them.

"'Mione!" Ginny greeted as if they hadn't just seen each other the night before.

"Hey Gin," she replied, allowing herself to be hugged. She turned her attention to the other girls already there and hugged each of them.

"You look great!" Hermione said to Hannah who was currently five months pregnant and clearly showing.

Hannah grinned back at her. "Thanks! I hope I don't ruin the fun this weekend. No drinking for me."

Hermione shrugged off the comment, she wasn't planning on drinking much herself, either. "You won't ruin anything. Trust me. The weekend is already better with your beautiful glow warming the place."

Ginny opened her mouth to agree with Hermione but only ended up nodding as the Patil sisters had arrived and approached them. They were almost unrecognisable and Ginny decided they are the ones who changed the most next to Cho.

"Sorry we're late," they greeted in unison before they hugged everybody individually and fell into different conversations.

"That's it! We're all here!" Ginny announced after doing a quick headcount, pulling everybody out of their mini conversations. "We have a lot to do this weekend. Loads of catching up, adventure, drinking, and partying!"

There were a few whoops.

Ginny scanned everybody's face before pulling out the Portkey. She was glad that nobody was too late. "Thirty-eight seconds."

Hermione was the first to the coat hanger, followed by Cho. Soon they were all holding on except Hannah.

"I'll see you all there in about…" Hannah paused and looked at the time. "Twenty minutes."

There was a few light goodbyes before the Portkey activated and they were all sucked into the void to their weekend retreat destination.

The drinking began sooner than was anticipated by any of them. All it took was a single suggestion of pink champagne and an exploding glitter party-popper to get them going. Noise erupted around the women, covered in the shimmery glitter, peeling silly string from their hair just half an hour later, and discarded plastic cups strewn around their retreat location. Already wasted, they were going out into the dark-lit streets to find somewhere to celebrate being drunk and being with friends.

"Your lipstick is smeared, Gin," Hermione commented, rubbing her thumb along her own lip absentmindedly. She had promised herself she wouldn't drink, but several raspberry vodkas had taken her down faster than a hippogriff on speed. "In fact, your face is smeared." She giggled nonsensically.

"I'm in love with an idiot," Ginny replied, grinning. "Hannah, how are you not completely hammered right now?" To which Hannah pointed at her protruding belly sardonically, lemonade in hand.

"Unfortunately, I'm carrying life within me, so I cannot be as reckless as the rest of you," Hannah joked in return. "Plus, I love lemonade. Don't pity me, ladies."

"Never."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"I don't think I want children," Hermione mused, last. "I'm going to drink alcohol for the rest of my life. This fizzy pink stuff is great for your health, right?"

Ginny grinned. She had told the brunette that the colour of the drink symbolised the fruit it had in it. Absinthe. For apple. It was a hilarious new version of Hermione Granger.

"Speaking of health, I should be getting back," Hannah said, downing the last of the lemonade and standing unsteadily. "The lady gets tired when she's carrying what feels like fifty extra pounds of human inside her. And even sugary lemonade is not enough to keep me going." Hannah smiled around at her friends, in their horrifying drunken state, but just as attentive to each other as usual. "This has been so fun. I am so excited to see how sick you are all going to feel tomorrow. Be safe!"

"I'll go back with you now, if that's alright, Hannah?" Padma asked, her twin beside her.

The three girls kissed cheeks, chins, foreheads of their friends and hobbled outside into the biting night air.

"Have you seen Luna?" Cho asked suddenly to Ginny's left, a white wine in her hand. Ginny shook her head.

"Not since she started dancing on that poor bloke's table."

"That was funny," Hermione murmured, then giggled loudly and obtrusively. "She's probably away with the fairies. Away, allegoric, antibody, ant... Amiga..." Hermione trailed off, looking into the distance, remembering the words beginning with 'A' for no apparent reason. It didn't bother the other two women, who were too far gone to notice this, let alone notice Hermione wandering off.

Cho and Ginny drank together longer and longer into the night, neither of them realising the time or the people around them. Cho mentioned something about air before pulling Ginny outside with her. It was a beautiful night, with glistening water falling around them. "The water is like glitter in this light."

Ginny looked up and agreed. However, she was quickly distracted with a flash of light and noise down an alleyway. The curious witch followed the commotion with Cho stumbling behind her. That's when their night went downhill.

* * *

Harry scoffed at Ron's behaviour. His best friend had decided that since the girls were having a great weekend out, that they should too and invited half of the Aurors to their house for a 'lad's evening in'. Due to work schedules and the lack of organisation on the Weasley's part, only six turned up, giving them a total of eight Aurors. Which Harry really enjoyed. He still wasn't fond of big parties.

But, Ron was still acting like a school child as they played the throwback games. Truth or Dare just wasn't all that enjoyable anybody. At least until Ron was running around outside him a pink tutu singing Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper - Or at least what he _thinks_ the words were.

"He does know that's not the tune?" Bradley, their newest Auror questions. He was a half blood who definitely knew all of the lyrics to this song. He had come up with the dare.

"Those aren't even the words," Ashley pointed out with a shrug. Harry wasn't sure how she knew the lyrics, but didn't question it.

Harry simply shrugged. Whatever Ron was doing, it was amusing.

Patrick was the first Auror to stop laughing and look into the distance, Ashley being the second. "Is that a Patronus?" she questioned.

Harry looked up. It was a horse. Ginny? He was up on his feet.

 _Harry. I need your help. I- Merlin. I don't know what happened but… I don't know who they were. Just come. Cho's unconscious and I don't know where Luna or Hermione went. I think Hannah went to the hotel. I just- Come please._

The Auror's didn't bother waiting until the end of the message until they began getting up and ready to go. "What's the location?" Bradley questioned, summoning some water for everybody to help sober up.

"What's going on?" Ron asked as he wondered in.

"Gin's in trouble," Harry responded shortly as he grabbed his wand. He gave a very, very short briefing before Apparating out.

* * *

Harry let out a sigh of relief when he turned up and saw that Ginny appeared unharmed. The pops that sounded around him made him feel safer about heading straight to her instead of checking their surroundings. "Gin. What happened? Look at me."

"I…" Ginny looked around before burying her head in his chest.

"Where's 'Mione?" Ron demanded.

Her breathing was shallow. Harry ran a hand through her hair before turning his attention to Cho. He gently pushed his wife off him and stood up. "Bradley. Take Cho to St. Mungo's. I want a full report on her health within ten minutes."

"Yes, Sir."

Ginny looked stunned as the male took her friend away. "Wait! What are you doing?"

"Cunningham, Moss, Weasley." The three looked at him. "Search this area for any from the party. Hermione Weasley, Luna Scamander, Padma Patil, Pavarti Patil, and Hannah Longbottom.

The three nodded and started. Ron looking very focused, but they both knew he would be focused on looking for one of them specifically.

"Knight, Zabini, Orville. Go the the hotel room and see if any of them are there."

Harry waited two seconds for them to follow his orders before finally turning his attention back to his wife. "What happened?" he asked again, his voice back to the soft and comforting tone he had started with. "Pay attention to me. Only me."

Ginny took a shaky breath, taking her time to compose herself. Harry hated seeing her like this. "We were just partying. Cho and I came out for some air. We were really drunk. And these guys were threatening to kill these other guys. I told them it wasn't a good idea and then they turned their wands on us."

"Who fired first?"

"I… I did. They were going to attack. It was a… No. They attacked first. Not me. But… they… One of them attacked another guy with a curse and he screamed in pain. I warned them and helped...tried to help." Ginny attempted to explain, her words slightly scattered. It was unclear if that was due to fear or alcohol – probably a mixture of both.

"I helped," she whispered pitifully looking over at where Cho had been laying down.

Two pops alerted Harry to returning Aurors.

"Longbottom, Patil, and Patil are safe in their hotel room. Orville is staying with them," Blaise Zabini informed them.

Harry nodded. Five out of seven accounted for. "Thank you. It appears Ginny and Cho interrupted an attack and were caught in the middle."

Ron walked out with a very drunk Hermione, followed by Luna being carried by Moss.

"She's just asleep," he answered his unasked question.

"I think it's time for everybody to go home."

"What? No! The party's just started!"

Harry raised his eyebrows at Hermione, but decided now wasn't the time to get curious about this side of one of his best friends. "Moss, take Longbottom home to Neville. Weasley, take 'Mione and Ginny home. We'll stay and investigate what happened."

He received nods once again. And even though Harry was fully focused on working out what happened, he did enjoy watching Ron attempt to wrangle Ginny, who refused to go without Harry, and a very, very drunk and sparkly Hermione. This would be a night he wouldn't forget.


	18. A Little Adventure

**QL, Wanderers, Beater 1, Round 4.**

 **Theme: Write about a pet changing the owner's life - for better or for worse.**

 **Prompts:**

 **(Action) Running**

 **(Dialogue) "Who's a good boy/girl?"**

 **THC, Hufflepuff, Year 1, Round 1**

 **Prompt: [Weather] Rain.**

 **Category: Short**

 **Word Count: 2442**

 **Betas: Dina, Aya, Lynne**

 **Warnings: Mentions of abuse.**

* * *

Harry Potter slowly sat down on the wet ground. He was already soaked from head to toe from the rain, so what was a few more minutes outside? Crossing his legs, he attempted to smile at the little kitten.

"It's okay. I won't hurt you," the five-year-old boy promised softly.

The white and grey kitten kept its distance.

Harry couldn't help but find the fact that the soaked kitten was also so cute. He let his mind run wild with thoughts of owning a pet. Being able to take care of it, feed it, love it, cuddle it. The grin on his face made him feel like it was sunny outside, instead of raining.

The young boy's attention returned to the small animal as it hesitantly walked over to him and climbed onto his lap.

Taking a deep breath, Harry slowly allowed two fingers to stroke the wet fur. "I'm going to find you shelter and help you stay dry."

Harry waited a few moments before cradling his new friend in his arms and walking over to his makeshift den. He had made it a few weeks ago when Uncle Vernon had forgotten he was still outside and locked the door before going to sleep. Thankfully it hadn't been raining that night!

"Who's a good girl… boy? Nah, you seem like a girl to me," he cooed. "Here we go. This is a very soft blanket, you can sleep on it! I can't stay tonight, but I'll come and see you tomorrow morning, okay?"

The young boy placed the kitten down onto the blanket and bunched it up around her.

"There you are, all settled!"

With a grin of accomplishment, Harry stood up and walked the three-minute journey back to his house. It wasn't a surprise that Uncle Vernon wasn't happy about his saturated appearance.

* * *

Harry had elected to name his new pet Flower. He didn't know why but he always loved looking at flowers – he just couldn't remember any of their names except Petunia. His aunt didn't look anything like the kitten, so he couldn't use her name.

Flower was a very independent cat, just like Harry was. They could survive on their own. At least, that's what the five-year-old told himself before going back to the Dursley's for dinner.

It had been two glorious weeks of visiting Flower daily, taking her little bits of food and milk.

"Give me that," Dudley spluttered out, taking the toy car out of his hand and throwing it on the floor. "I decided I want it back!"

Harry sighed. He hated that Dudley could simply choose when he wanted a toy and he had to give it up. "Fine."

His cousin reached again and pulled at his top. "This one's mine! Give it back!"

"No! You're too big for it now. It's mine!" Harry protested. He didn't have time for his cousin's stupidity. He hadn't seen Flower yet today. "Let me go."

The larger five-year-old pulled tighter which caused Harry to fall toward and into Dudley. Both of them toppled to the floor.

Harry waited for the cry from Dudley and for him to get in big trouble with his uncle. What would it be this time? Missing a meal? Straight to bed? Doing the washing? But things didn't go as normal; his larger cousin pushed him onto his back and took a swing.

"You did that on purpose," he accused as his other fist connected with Harry's nose. "Didn't you!"

"No! Get off!" All Harry wanted to do was run away. To get away from the house and hide. He attempted to block the hazardous fists by dodging to protect himself. He couldn't. "Stop, Dudley, stop!"

Harry pushed his arms on the other boy's chest as he heard his aunt's voice ordering Dudley to leave him alone. She was on his side. But the attack didn't stop. Suddenly he heard a crack as his nose filled with immense pain.

It took a few seconds for Harry to realise Dudley had finally stopped attacking him. He couldn't quite work out how he'd stopped though. Dudley was sitting surprised on the other end of the living room and his Aunt Petunia hadn't moved closer. Their expressions were blurry due to the tears free-flowing down his cheeks.

"Aunt Petunia…" Harry said weekly, confused and in immense pain. This was the first time his cousin had made him bleed. It usually happened when Uncle Vernon got mad at him.

"Go to your room."

"But—"

"Now!"

Harry sniffled and crawled out of the room. The tears flowing harder but not because of the pain. He just wanted a little help.

Harry curled up on his bed and eventually fell asleep, forgetting about Flower and visiting her today.

* * *

Uncle Vernon was very angry at Harry in the morning. He had to serve breakfast and wasn't allowed any. Then he had to do the washing up before being kicked out to 'limit the exposure of freakiness to Dudley.' They'd never called him a freak before. He had to admit to himself, it hurt. It wasn't until he was outside that he realised how unbelievably hungry he was. No dinner yesterday and no breakfast this morning.

"No!" he suddenly exclaimed. "Flower!"

Before the young boy even registered what he was doing, he was running to their little den.

"Flower? Flower! Come here, girl!" he called, the panic rising in his voice. She wasn't here. Did it rain last night? She hated the rain. "Please. Come back!"

Harry sat down in the slightly damp den… it didn't stop the rain. He had failed to protect his pet. At least an hour had passed before the rain began drizzling down. New determination filled him, making him jump up. He would not allow Flower to suffer because of his absence! He would find her, protect her, and make sure she was happy!

Standing up, Harry attempted to smooth his hair out of his eyes and set on his journey to find her. A sense of purpose filled his core as he walked to places he'd never been before. Finding her was more important than finding his way back to his home – they were angry at him right now; the longer he left them, the more likely they'd be back to their usual self upon his return.

"Oh no," the boy muttered to himself as he came up to a road. It was a small one with no cars. But he wasn't allowed to cross it alone. Looking left and right, he contemplated what to do. Nobody was around. Would anybody know? He let his glance fall to the ground before stepping on the road. He looked left and right again, still clear. Then, with a few swift strides, he ran across the road onto the safety of the pavement.

It seemed like hours had passed, and Harry's confidence grew every time he crossed a road. He had lost count after five… mainly because he couldn't remember if it was followed by six or nine.

"Flower?" he called hopelessly. Harry was strongly regretting his actions as the sun began to set. Suddenly a gasp left him as he saw a white and grey cat across a much busier road. It was soaked with the rain falling around them. "Flower!"

The boy's legs started to move as his eyes remained trained on the furry animal. Had he found his best friend? His kitten? His Flower? Harry slowed his run to a stop as he realised that _wasn't_ his pet. It was a different cat.

A horn alerted Harry to his position on the road before strong arms grabbed him and flew him out of danger.

Harry waited for his heart to stop racing as he looked up at the man who just rescued him. His hair was black, his eyes even darker. "Who—?"

"Shush," the man ordered firmly before taking his hand and leading them off.

The young boy wasn't sure what to do. Should he be going with this man? He _did_ just rescue him, so he must have been good, right?

They came to a stop and the man knelt to his level, his eyes cold and calculating as they looked over him. "What happened to your face?"

"Dudley got mad."

He nodded. Still no emotion. "I'm going to take you to see somebody."

"Wait! We need to find Flower! She's a good girl!"

"Who's a good girl?"

"Flower! My kitten!" Harry said with a sense of confidence. Maybe this man would help him.

"No time."

Harry sighed. He should have known it was too good to be true. Without restraint, he allowed the older man to take his hand and continue leading him to an unknown location.

* * *

Harry sat on the most comfortable chair he had ever been on eating a lemon drizzle in a huge castle! It was all so surreal! He had discovered that the man who rescued him was called Severus. The man had been talking to an older woman and a really old man with a long white beard for a really long time!

Harry didn't mind though, another woman, Madam Pomfrey, had given him sweets and cakes after making him drink something disgusting and waving a stick at him.

"Oh. Hello?" a small man greeted with surprise.

"Hi!" he replied with a smile.

The man cleared his throat. "You're a bit young to be at Hogwarts."

Harry nodded. "Yes. Severus brought me here. He saved my life."

"Did he now? What's your name?"

"Harry. What's yours?"

The man seemed to stare at him for an uncomfortable amount of time before answering. "Professor Flitwick. I'll be one of your professors when you come here, Harry."

"I… I'm coming here?"

Professor Flitwick nodded. "When you reach eleven-years-old."

Harry looked around and allowed himself to marvel at the scenery once more. "I can't wait!"

A few seconds passed before the door opened and Severus came out. He nodded at the small professor before taking Harry's hand and leading him off in silence.

The whole walk wasn't as quiet as his saviour would have wanted. "Is it true I get to come here when I'm eleven?"

"Yes."

"Will you be here?"

"Yes."

Harry jumped with joy as he held onto Severus's hand a little tighter. "I can't wait!"

He received an emotionless glance from the older man but took no note of it. Harry _knew_ Severus liked him. Why else would he save his life _and_ hold his hand to make sure he didn't get lost?

* * *

After a trip through a fireplace and then being Apparated – which Harry never ever wanted to repeat – they ended up in a field. A large field. They began walking again.

"You like walking a lot."

"What?"

"You like to walk," Harry alliterated. "You do a lot of it! Uncle Vernon hates walking."

"That's why he's fat."

Harry snickered as he attempted to hold back the laugh. He'd never heard anybody insult his uncle before. He'd been insulted several times, and even his cousin had been. But nobody ever dared to insult his uncle! "You're my favourite person ever, Severus!"

Severus stopped for a second but didn't respond immediately. "The headmaster and I had a long discussion about your wellbeing. Your guardians were not aware you were missing nor did they seem to realise how much danger you had put yourself in. That danger severed a bond. For the next week, you are going to stay with the Lovegood's while we decide if you will return to them or not. You are to behave in the meantime."

Harry nodded slowly. "Can't I just stay with you?"

"No. I'm a Professor. Not a babysitter."

"But… can I still see you?"

Severus looked down at him with some emotion in his eyes, but he didn't know what it was. "I'll be back in a week to tell you what's going on. Agreed?"

Harry nodded so quickly and eagerly that he felt like his head would fall off.

"There's the house."

Harry tore his gaze from the older man he'd quickly come to admire and felt his mouth drop open. That is not what he had been expecting and was now even more excited. Hopefully, the family was as nice as Severus and nothing like his Uncle.

* * *

Harry had been sitting on the windowsill staring out into the distance for over an hour waiting for Severus. He was coming today.

"Remember to not go outside when he comes, it's raining and I don't want you to catch a cold."

"Okay, Pandora," he replied, distracted. It was difficult to see too far away and he didn't want to lose focus.

Luna approached and held something up to him. Blindly reaching for it, he smiled and looked down at her. "A biscuit. Who's a good girl! Thank you!"

The four-year-old grinned with accomplishment. "Can we play?"

"I can't. I'm waiting for Severus. He's _very_ important."

"Are you going away?" Luna asked with a pout.

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. But you'll be the first person I tell, okay?"

Luna thought about it before nodding and running off.

The five-year-old ate the biscuit before looking out of the window again. Suddenly, he jumped up. "Severus! He's here! He's here!"

Harry raced to the front door and pulled it open. He was so close! Meters away! Forgetting what Pandora told him, he stormed out of the house and ran straight to the man and wrapped his arms around his waist. "You came back!"

He felt a hand on his back which lifted him up and carried him back into the house. "Now you're wet."

"Worth it!"

"Take a seat, Harry."

Harry followed orders for two seconds. His butt touched the seat cushion before he stood again. "Please don't make me go back to my Aunt and Uncle! Please!"

"Sit."

This time, his butt remained on the couch cushion.

"I need to discuss a few matters with the Lovegoods. While that takes place, I found somebody for you."

Harry's entire demeanor lightened up as Flower was brought out of Severus's pocket. Instantly jumping up, he took his pet into his arms and cuddled her. "I missed you so much! I'm sorry I lost you!"

"Kitty!" Luna exclaimed running over to pet her.

"Be gentle. She's shy."

Harry watched Severus walk out of the room with Pandora and Xena. He hoped it was a good conversation. Two things the young boy knew: He could do anything now that he had Flower back. He only had to wait until he was eleven before he was in the same place as Severus for sure again.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading!**


	19. 1st September

**THC, Hufflepuff, Round 1, Year 1, Standard.**

 **Prompt: 1st September**

 **Word count: 788**

* * *

This was it. After all of the waiting, the first of September has arrived. This was going to be the greatest day of young James Sirius Potter's life. He just _knew_ that Hogwarts would be even more amazing than anybody could have possibly explained. Of course, the eleven-year-old was mildly upset that his Hogwarts years wouldn't be quite as interesting as his father's had been. But not everybody can rescue a friend from a troll, defeat a dark wizard a couple of times, start up a secret army, and attend lessons all in a mere six years. James just wasn't sure he would be able to commit to that level of hard work.

James dragged his carefully packed trunk down the stairs with a look of glee on his face. "I'm ready! Let's go!" he announced.

His parents didn't seem to share his enthusiasm.

"James! You are late!" his mother told him off.

With a roll of his eyes, he grabbed the deliciously - but slightly cold - pancake and took a bite. "Mm, thanks!" James didn't even bother to dodge the light tap around his ear. His parents didn't care about his time keeping today as long as he made it onto the train in time. They had 44 minutes left to get there.

"Did you pack everything?" his Dad inquired as he picked up James' trunk.

James nodded at the same time he shrugged. "Al packed it for me."

Ginny shook her head with a pained look. "James…"

"C'mon Mum! We don't want to be late," the guilty eleven-year-old stated before picking up Lily and walking out of the door.

"We're going by Floo!" his father called after him.

James and Lily laughed as they returned to the house.

* * *

James had tried to get away from his family as quickly as possible, but his attempts were futile. His mother used to be a professional Chaser and easily cornered him. It was easy enough to dodge his father and brother, though he did make sure to say goodbye properly. The only person who didn't have to try to get his attention was little Lily. Her eyes looked like an ocean as she attempted to not cry. She still didn't understand the momentous adventure he was about to embark on and only focused on the fact she wouldn't see him until Christmas. James knew she'd understand eventually but that didn't make it less difficult to simply walk onto the train.

"Time will fly, Lil. I promise."

"Just… go next year?"

"That's not how it works."

Lily sniffled. "I won't tell if you don't."

"That's..." He paused. He didn't want to repeat himself. "I have to go when I'm eleven _on_ the first of September… otherwise, I can't go."

"You'll be eleven next year too!"

James shook his head. He almost wished her arguments were better. He kissed her forehead and gave her a long hug. "I'll write to you."

His little sister nodded. "I'll draw you a picture."

"I'll hang it on my wardrobe."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

James smoothed out her hair before ruffling his brothers and hopping onto the train. "Later, family!" he called before going to find a compartment.

His journey was starting! He was going to have the best adventure ever. Today was the first day of the rest of his life!

"Hey, Squirt!"

"Teddy? What'd you want!"

The older boy scoffed. "Nice to see you too."

James huffed slightly. He had forgotten about Teddy. The older boy had always been cooler than he was. This was going to make things a little bit more challenging. It wasn't like the eleven-year-old could pretend he didn't know the older student - everybody knew their connection.

"Going to give me some helpful tips?" he asked.

Teddy grinned and sat down. "Stay with me and even the professors will love you."

Having his Godbrother at Hogwarts would have its challenges… but also its benefits.

"Teach me _everything_."

* * *

By the time that James Sirius Potter had arrived at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he had learnt only a portion of what his Godbrother knew. However, during his years, he would end up learning even more than the older lad and become more popular. Until then though, the eleven-year-old almost blended in with the other students. After all, you don't want everybody to know that you want the attention, you simply need to stand out just enough to be noticed but not too much to seem desperate.

The habit of introducing himself with his full name was difficult to change. Being just 'James' almost felt wrong, like he was hiding part of himself, part of his identity. However, the knowledge that nearly everybody knew _exactly_ who he was helped. No point wasting his breath.


	20. Meant To Be?

**QL, Wanderers, Beater 1, Round 5.**

 **Theme: Use a title from Beater 2 as a stimulus [Meant to be]**

 **Prompts:**

 **7\. (quote) I loved you the same way I learned to ride a bike- scared, but reckless. - Rudy Francisco**

 **8\. (idiom) every cloud has a silver lining**

 **11\. (dialogue) "I should have told you sooner."**

 **THC, Hufflepuff, Year 1, Round 2.**

 **Prompt:**

 **[Action] Drinking**

 **Category: Standard**

 **Word Count: 1183**

 **Betas: Aya**

* * *

 **Meant To Be is not always Meant To Be**

* * *

Ron Weasley poured some water into his mouth, swished it, and then swallowed. It had been a stressful morning. His throat was dry from all of the talking he had just been forced to participate in. George's decision regarding his store was turning a lot of heads. All of the Weasley's were happy and proud with his decision, but the world wasn't quite ready for such an inspired and creative idea.

As the twenty-four-year-old took another swig of water, a sound stopped him. Laughter. Not just any laughter, though. It was Hermione.

Ron found himself staring across the street at her. They hadn't seen each other much over the last five years – that was something he still regretted. She was probably still waiting for him to grow up. Five years was a long time to hold a grudge.

The curly blond hair of the young boy on her shoulders was the next thing that caught his attention; a huge smile filled his features too. He was almost an exact copy of his mother.

She looked so happy. Ron always liked her smile and her laugh – he wished he'd told her that.

The sound of her laughter filled the street. The fact that Malfoy of all people managed to ignite such a lovely sound from her was saying something.

Ron took one more sip of his water before walking across the street and over to the trio. He mentally hoped he wouldn't be instantly dismissed. "'Mione…" he started, the rest of the words falling out of his mind.

"Ron," she replied, a hint of surprise to her tone. "How have you been?"

"I've been good… great. You?"

"I've been well, thank you. What brings you to—"

"Visiting George."

Hermione looked over at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and smiled. "Yes. I heard about his decision to extend this store and expand the company into helping disadvantaged children to afford wizarding supplies instead of opening a second shop. That is very admirable."

"Yeah, he's doing that," Ron replied lamely. He took a look at Malfoy who was standing there silently, and then up at their child who was just staring – more like glaring – at him. "I should let you go." Without waiting for her response he turned away as he decided which direction to go.

"No, Ron. Let's talk," Hermione interrupted. "We should catch up."

Ron heeded orders and turned back to face her in time to see Draco take the boy.

"I'll see you at home," the former enemy said to his former girlfriend.

Hermione nodded, her hand softly touching his arm before the blond left and she turned her attention back to him. That encounter alone showed Ron exactly how happy she was with him. "Let's sit down somewhere."

Ron nodded and pointed to a new cafe.

It took them just over three minutes to sit down, her with a hot chocolate, and him with a butterbeer.

The silence was starting to become awkward in his opinion but he'd expected Hermione to know exactly what to say. When the seconds started to mount up, he decided to start the conversation. "I hear you're in the running for Minister for Magic! I always knew you'd accomplish something great."

"Thank you. It has been a whirlwind lately with everything going on. Having been Deputy for a short amount of time I had expected them to instantly go for somebody with more experience. I wasn't originally going to apply but Draco insisted. The amount of support I have received has been overwhelmingly positive."

"You are incredible. I should have told you sooner but I figured you already knew," Ron said with a small joking smile.

Hermione let out a laugh, not as enthusiastic as the one she had with Malfoy, but it was genuine. "Thanks. I hear you're excelling in your career and family."

"Great job, great family. My daughters around the same age as your son, and we've got one on the way. Mum's really happy to get another grandchild."

"I bet! How is Molly?"

Ron grinned. "She's great! You should pop over at some point, she'd love to see you. Everybody would."

Hermione's expression dulled slightly. "Yeah. Maybe."

Now was the time to say what he should have said ages ago. No point chickening out now. "'Mione… I know that we didn't quite work together. We had so much history. Passion. A great connection. I don't think I can even pinpoint why we didn't work or how we managed to ruin our friendship at the same time. Could have been my fault, it makes sense if it was. Maybe we just weren't meant to be. I loved you… so much. More than I could even comprehend at that age. Too many emotions for… somebody with the emotional level of a teaspoon." He paused and took a breath as she laughed. "I've realised though, seeing how happy you are, that I'm _glad_ we didn't work out. I'm glad I was too scared to truly let me feel and fight for you. You have Malfoy as a husband, which would have been a nightmare in school, but it's a reality. Somehow he is right for you because you're better than ever. Us not working and breaking up caused you to do what you needed to do to work your way up in the Ministry, find the love of your life, and have an amazing son who looks just like you. So… while I think we would have been happy and had a fantastic life together had we remained together, it's a good thing we didn't."

Hermione wiped a single tear away as she looked at him with watery eyes. "You're incredible, you know that? When did you become such a great speaker?"

"Practice, I guess?" Ron shrugged.

"I've really missed you," Hermione admitted. "I should have written you a letter… well, sent one of the letters I wrote… or visited you."

"It's all in the past."

Hermione let out a watery laugh. "Not all of it. I don't want our friendship to be in the past. Do you think we could find that again?"

Ron pretended to think and took his time taking a drink of butterbeer. "Hmm…" he verbalised as he set the glass down. "Yeah, I know exactly where to find it." He stood up and opened his arms. It felt so right when she stood up and hugged him. They weren't meant to date, but they were meant to be friends.

"'Mione?"

"Yeah."

"Now that we're friends again. Can you tell me what happened between you and Ginny?"

Hermione let go of him and stood back, a hesitant look on her face. "That's a really long story…"

Ron sat back down at the same time she did. "I don't have anywhere to be for a while."

It took her a few moments before she nodded. "Alright. Don't be mad."

That wasn't how he expected her explanation to start, but that wasn't the most shocking part either. Looks like there was a lot more repairing to do than just their friendship.


	21. A Day In The Life Of Draco Malfoy

**QL, Wanderers, Beater 1, Round 5.**

 **Theme: June: Dudley Dursley, _Draco Malfoy_ , or Dobby**

 **Prompts:**

 **(word) striped**

 **(colour) cream**

 **Word Count: 1766**

 **Betas: Dina**

* * *

Draco Malfoy glared at the green and cream striped t-shirt his mother had bought. It was so common, so below him. The seventeen-year-old wasn't sure exactly what to do about it. His mother had changed after the war and he wasn't so sure that he liked her 'hippy lifestyle' as his father called it. Draco hadn't minded the changes too much until she started buying him clothes. She hadn't done that since he was thirteen and he honestly hated them all. However, he did love his mother and if he didn't wear it she'd be upset. She always knew how much he wore clothing when he returned, and his final retake year at Hogwarts was not going to be any different.

With a sigh, he reluctantly slipped it on before covering it instantly with a jumper and a robe. He even refused to admit to himself how warm and soft it was. It was actually a perfect t-shirt for the temperature outside.

Draco exited his dorm and headed through the Hogwarts Castle towards the grounds. He had agreed to meet Ginny Weasley of all people. There were many reasons he did not wish to meet up with her. One, it was misty and cold; two, he didn't really like her or her family; three, she wouldn't tell him why; and four, he was sure it was some sort of trap.

Nevertheless, he found himself exiting the castle and walking towards the designated meet-up spot. Draco pulled his robe a bit tighter before pretending as if the weather did not bother him. Mist was always strange to him, even as a boy; it felt as if it were raining but without the rain.

Even with the mist causing visual problems, Draco spotted the signature ginger hair. From what he could see, it was only her. He breathed out a sigh of relief. As he got closer he noticed she was wearing a cream and red striped jumper - he knew he hated his t-shirt for a reason! Not only did he already hate the colour cream - it was like a dirty white! - but it being striped was a poor person's design. Even the youngest disgusting Weasel was proving his point. He'll be having words with his mother and telling his father about what had occurred.

"You're early," Weasley commented with a smile. She obviously didn't understand how angry he was at his mother for her poor fashion sense.

"As are you," he replied simply. Draco stopped a few feet from her and looked around. "You wanted to meet?"

Weasley nodded. "I wanted to talk to you."

"In the middle of a field?" He raised his hands and looked around. "With this weather?"

"I didn't want us to be overheard."

Draco smirked. "If you are about to declare your love for me-"

"Ew. No." Weasley shook her head.

Draco raised an eyebrow at her reaction but was still trying to work out what they could possibly have to talk about.

She cleared her throat and indicated for them to take a walk. It seemed cardio would be included in this talk. "A lot has changed since the war. Everybody is different. Sometimes it's good - like you, you're not as much of a jerk. But sometimes it's…" she hesitated. "Less good."

"Less good?" he repeated. "Do you mean bad?"

"No!" the ginger replied quickly. "Just not healthy."

This conversation was already starting to bore him. "Your point?"

"Hermione has pulled away from everybody else. She's spending so much more time studying and less time socialising."

Draco had to laugh. Was Weasley seriously this stupid? "Granger _always_ studied. She is the smartest witch of her age for a reason. The number of times I saw her in the library reading or doing homework straight after it was assigned during dinner was unbelievable - I honestly could not fathom how she was _that_ dedicated sometimes and I used to study all the time. Just not as much as her. Now it's her NEWTs and future in front of her, I'm surprised she's ever not studying." He paused for a split second as he remembered what else she said. It was obvious that the younger girl expected Granger to be spending countless hours with her. "She's probably socialising less because her two best friends aren't here. You are not her best friend, you're firstly her friend's little sister, and secondly just a friend. Don't smother her. This is, in her opinion, the most important year for her… defeating The Dar-He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was likely less crucial than being prepared for exams."

It was only after he'd finished talking did he realise the person he had been talking to was staring at him with her mouth agape.

"What?"

Weasley blinked a few times as she tugged at her jumper. It was wet, the cream and red looking soggy from the time exposed in this misty weather. She really should be wearing a cloak or at least a robe like he was. Even Draco was feeling the wetness sinking in and knew they should be heading back inside. There was no point of a drying spell until he was out of what was causing the problem.

"I didn't think about it that way," the girl finally admitted. "Wouldn't she be lonely?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Why don't you ask her? Instead of me. The person who couldn't give a crap."

Weasley looked at him accusingly. "You care," she stated.

He shook his head. "Not really."

"You're Head Boy and she's Head Girl. You _care!"_

"Not about petty things like 'she's not giving me enough attention'." He scoffed at her expression. "It's true."

"You're making me sound needy."

Draco shrugged. There were thousands of insults going through his mind, some relevant to their conversation, but he doubted starting a fight with the ginger would do him any good. "Whatever. I'm going in."

She huffed but followed his lead and they walked back to the castle together.

"Next time you want to talk about your feelings, don't come to me. And if you do… don't ask to meet me outside in misty weather."

"Any more advice?"

"Yes. Striped jumpers are ridiculous."

Weasley glared at him before strutting off. It looked like she had decided to not insult him either. Their conversations would be a lot more boring. He would ensure to maintain it did not become a regular thing talking to her. She was too needy and annoying. Once again, he was left wondering why he agreed to meet with her to begin with.

Draco returned to his Heads' Common Room and saw Granger sprawled out with a bunch of books. "Your annoying ginger friend is worried you're studying too much."

"Ron?" she asked, confused, actually looking away from her books at him.

"Nah. The female one."

"Oh," she muttered as her eyes once again came glued to the pages of one of her books.

Instead of going straight to his dorm like he would usually do, he paused. "I thought you had completed your homework?"

Granger nodded. "I did. I'm just doing extra research."

"Annoying ginger was right… you _are_ studying too much."

She glared at him - and she was getting better at them too. Granger spent half her time with him sending at least one glare his way. "There's no such thing as too much studying, Malfoy."

"Is there no such thing as no social life, too?" he retorted. "You meeting up with Potter and Weasley at Hogsmeade next weekend?"

Granger nodded and looked away from him.

"Good. That'll be good." He took another look at her before walking off.

Later that evening, Draco was just in his slacks, socks, and that cream and green striped t-shirt. He still hated it with a passion. Nothing anybody said would make him even consider liking the abomination that was this article of clothing. He glanced at the mirror in disgust before walking into the shared common room. It wasn't surprising to find Granger reading. At least she wasn't studying.

"What are you wearing?" she asked, her eyes falling off her page and over to him.

"Clothes," he replied rather snappily.

Granger chuckled. "I'm glad for that."

Draco looked at her suspiciously. "You're in a good mood."

His classmate closed her book and placed it on the table in front of her. It looked like they were going to have a conversation - this was why he should always remain in his dorm. "You made me start thinking earlier. I was studying a lot," she started. "Though, it is one of the most crucial years of my life. I should also make sure to have fun and acknowledge everybody around me. So, thank you."

"Trust me… I didn't do anything."

"It couldn't have been easy telling me my faults."

"It was. I could list more if you wanted?"

Granger smiled as if he were joking. However, something about her expression told him that she knew exactly what he was thinking. "Still, thanks."

"Don't mention it."

Draco turned away, his reason for coming down here completely gone from his mind. Unfortunately, Granger continued talking. "Can I ask you something?"

"Fine."

"What's with the striped t-shirt?"

Draco straightened his shoulders as he looked at her. "Is it so hard for you to believe that I have green and cream coloured clothes?"

She shook her head. "No. I figured you had green and cream clothes. It's just them being striped that stood out."

Draco scoffed. "I do _not_ own cream coloured clothes. Why would I want to wear an off-white piece of clothing? It's never clean! It's either white or a normal colour. And no, the striped design is not my idea of 'fashion' either. Why couldn't mother just choose a colour? One single colour instead of two sharing the same t-shirt. I will never understand women and their choice of clothing."

Granger looked mildly amused. "Maybe she was testing you?"

"What?"

"It's clear you despise cream and stripes. Why would she buy you it?"

Draco began to glare at her. "If you're implying…"

"I'm just saying." She paused. "Wouldn't she know what you liked and disliked?"

Draco felt his blood boiling. Was his mother testing him? Or playing a joke on him? He pulled off the offending t-shirt. That's the last time he tried to do something nice for somebody he loves. He pulled out his wand and burnt the t-shirt.

Granger simply watched before picking up her book as if she hadn't just witnessed his meltdown.

He made a mental note to thank her later. Though, he doubted that he ever would.


	22. Family's Change

**THC - Hufflepuff - Year 1 - Round 3 - Drabble - Theme: Family - Prompt: Malfoy Manner - Word count: 649 - Betas: Aya and Magi**

* * *

Draco closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He slowly counted to ten. On number ten his eyes opened and he looked around, eyeing up the large ballroom at the Malfoy Manor. The thirty-year-old tried to look like this wasn't the worst game he'd ever played. "Ready or not," he sighed, "here I come."

The excited giggles of his six-year-old were clearly heard from behind the curtain. Draco sighed again. "I wonder where Scorpius is…"

The giggles intensified as Draco made a half-assed effort to 'pretend' to look for the boy before pulling the curtain open. "There you are!"

"You're so good at this game, Daddy! Again!"

"Not again. Daddy has to work."

Scorpius pouted instantly. "Really?"

"Yes, really." Draco checked the time. "It's nearly your bedtime. Use your time wisely," he advised before exiting the room. He had spent longer than he anticipated playing with his son after dinner and would be up late working.

* * *

Draco had been so absorbed in completing his work in the home office that four hours went by. His wife, Astoria, made him aware of the time when she walked in.

"It's time for bed," she informed him.

"Later."

"It's already late."

He glanced up at her. She looked tired. "Then go sleep. I'll be up late."

She let her head drop into a nod and left him alone.

* * *

It was almost morning when Draco climbed into bed next to his wife. Out of habit he ran his wand over her and sighed. She wasn't doing well. He put his wand away and pulled her into his arms. The way she fit was simply perfect. The thirty-year-old knew he should be taking advantage of any and all opportunities to hold her and spend time with her, but he had work to do.

Right before he nearly drifted off completely, he felt his wife move closer and smiled. Something about Astoria snuggling up to him always made him sleep better – not that he'd reveal that to anybody except her.

* * *

Three months later seemed like a mirror day. Draco spent too long doing his work and not enough time with his family. However, when Astoria didn't come and tell him it was time for bed at the usual time, he knew something was wrong. Was this break in the pattern deadly?

Draco quickly made his way through Malfoy Manor. Up the old staircases which no longer squeaked. Down the long corridor to rooms which were no longer used. And through the door which revealed his greatest fear – Astoria laying there motionless.

She was still. Unmoving. Gone.

His whole world stopped. Draco managed to take very slow steps over to his wife. Each step opened up a new observation. Step. Astoria's book wasn't finished. Step. Her hair was still damp from a bath. Step. She was wearing the pyjamas Scorpius brought her for Christmas. Step. Her skin was cold. Step. Goodbye.

* * *

Draco's heart broke as he watched her body be taken away. He had wanted her to remain longer. However, he didn't want Scorpius to remember her that way. They had spoken to him about Astoria's life being short… about her having to leave them. Yet, Draco had never thought about how he'd tell the six-year-old that she was gone and not coming back. Scorpius was always filled with so much energy, even when he spoke about the Muggle games he learnt from his playdates. Would that still be the same without Astoria? Could he still keep the two of them together? Were they still a family without her? What would they do without her?

Draco didn't know. Unfortunately, he had no choice but to try.

He watched his son sleep. Scorpius would wake up to this nasty change. Draco let him sleep for as long as possible. His son deserved every second still believing his mother was around. Scorpius deserved the world.


	23. Snape's love conqured Petunia

**THC - Hufflepuff - Year 1 - Round 3 - Standard - Theme: Love Conquers All - Prompt: Severus Snape and Petunia Evans - Word count: 1383. Betas: Aya**

* * *

Snape always knew that Lily was gifted. She was a witch just like him. He was the one who introduced her to the wizarding world, to who she really was. Her older sister, Petunia, never liked him. Petunia was filled with hate, jealousy, and insults.

When Snape returned to his unhappy home after sixth year, he didn't know what to do. It had been a whole year since Lily had refused to talk to him. Years of friendship and she turned her back on him after one slip up.

The teen sat on one of the swings, swaying backwards and forwards. He didn't want to be at home right now and there was no one else he could visit, so alone in the park was the best and only option he could think of right now.

"Well, if it isn't smelly-Sevvy," Petunia greeted with a sneer. "Heard Lily hates you now."

"I hear she hates you, too," he replied cruelly. He'd never heard Lily say anything of the sorts but Petunia didn't know that.

Petunia was silent for a moment. "That's your fault. You turned her into a _freak_! She left everybody behind… even you!"

"She is not a freak! You've always been jealous of her. Lily is better than you in every way!" Snape had stood up and glared at the slightly older girl, but soon his anger dissipated. He was defending Lily again. However, he doubted that she would do the same for him. "Well… maybe not every way. You hate me and still talk to me. At least you've got that above her."

"Keep your friends close but your enemies closer," she replied, her tone still harsh but less mean. "What did you do?"

Snape looked up at her sheepishly. "I called her a Mudblood."

"A what?"

"Mudblood… it means she has dirty blood because her parents aren't witches."

"What am I?"

"A Muggle," he answered even though he knew she knew the term. "Non-magical being."

Petunia scowled at him. "Muggle."

Snape nodded and looked at her. "I'm sorry you're not a witch."

The older girl scoffed. "I don't want to be a _freak!_ Or go to that stupid school! I'm not… I'll be… I don't abandon family." With that, Petunia turned and stormed off.

The seventeen-year-old wasn't entirely sure of the whole conversation. One thing he did know, Petunia was still willing to talk to him and the entire conversation wasn't riddled with insults. Had he been so blind to ignore the Muggle? If one of the Evans was willing to talk to him, perhaps this summer wouldn't be as awful as he imagined.

* * *

Snape and Petunia spent more time over the summer together. It was still filled mostly with insults but Snape was used to that. He was desensitised to insults after being in school with James Potter and Sirius Black.

He and Petunia didn't talk about the magical world often, it always brought up a bitterness in the older woman. However, she now had a good grasp of the magical world.

When the end of the summer came, Snape knew that he and Petunia were friends and that his relationship with Lily was truly over. After all, he couldn't recover from calling her a Mudblood, so how could he recover from Petunia calling her that, too?

There were no promises when they said their goodbye's. In fact, it was barely a goodbye. Snape would miss her. He could only hope she would miss him too.

* * *

The next time Snape saw Petunia was after graduation, he didn't come back for Christmas and only sent one letter – he hadn't received a reply. He saw her arguing with Lily. It was heated. In the past, Snape would jump in and defend Lily. Things had changed.

The eighteen-year-old hesitantly walked towards them, listening to their argument and trying to understand what it was about. Surely it couldn't just be because Lily was a witch?

"You're such a self-righteous bitch!" Petunia spat. "Nobody wants you here! Just leave and be with your jerk fiance!"

Snape's eyes snapped to Lily – she was marrying Potter.

"He is not a jerk! If you just came inside and spoke to him—"

"Never!" Petunia interrupted.

Snape looked between the sisters to the doorway of the house. Potter was standing there. He looked just as smug as he did in school.

Lily's eyes were pleading with her sister. "Please. He'd a good—"

"He's the opposite of good," Snape interrupted. "He's a bully."

Lily turned a glare on him.

"And _you're_ just a Mudblood," Petunia spat at Lily. "You don't belong in the Wizarding world. You don't belong here. You don't belong _anywhere_." The older sister spun around and started to walk off as Potter made his way over angrily. "Come on, Sev."

Snape took one glance at Potter and Lily before following Petunia. She'd never shortened his name before. He knew the older girl was doing everything she could to hurt Lily and taking her old nickname for him was one of the ways. He wasn't sure how he felt about that.

* * *

Petunia stopped at a bench and sat down. It was only after Snape sat down beside her did he notice she was crying. He'd never seen her cry before. It was hard to even imagine, let alone see.

"Petunia?"

"She has everything! She always got everything she wanted."

He placed a hand on her shoulder awkwardly. Comforting wasn't his fortey. "That's not true."

"Yes, it is! She has the normal world, the magical world, a fiance, and friends!" Petunia turned so he was mildly looking at her back. "I don't have anything."

"That's not true! You have the muggle world too, your family, and friends. You told me about them."

She nodded but that didn't seem to subdue her hurt.

"What about Lily gets you so upset?"

Petunia groaned in frustration and looked at him. "She's just so… perfect! Lily gets everything she wanted… she even gets what she doesn't want. It's not fair! Nothing is fair!"

"She doesn't get _everything_ ," Snape attempted to comfort.

"Really. What doesn't she get?"

Snape tried to not hesitate but it was a hard question. Lily did seem to have a perfect life. Thankfully, being a Death Eater taught him to think on his feet quickly. "She doesn't have you or your sisterly love," he started. Petunia's smirk told him she was happy with that little power over her younger sister. "She wasn't the best in every class. I was better at potions than her."

"Really?"

Snape nodded. "And… she will never have me. If she changes her mind, I won't fall to her feet anymore."

That really made Petunia smile. Why he wasn't sure. That didn't matter though. "What are you doing right now?"

"Nothing."

"Let's get something to eat. I'm starving."

The next month was spent between serving The Dark Lord and serving Petunia Evans. Snape had never thought he would date the older Evans sister. He never imagined they would fit so well together either. The realisation hit him like a tonne of bricks on a stormy day. He didn't want to be anywhere else but here with her. They'd only been officially dating a week and a half, but Snape knew he had found his soulmate. Of course, he also knew he'd have to wait to propose to her, she still wasn't sure if she liked him being a wizard.

* * *

Petunia Snape opened her front door to greet the mailman when she saw a baby on her doorstep. She knew instantly it was her sisters' little brat. "Severus!" she called urgently.

Her husband had been distant since receiving an owl late last night and hadn't even spoken to her. She had a strong feeling that he knew something was going on.

She glared at him as he walked over and stared down at the sleeping baby boy.

"Your sister's been murdered," he uttered making no effort to pick up the new arrival.

Petunia couldn't believe her ears. She looked down once again. Her life was already abnormal enough, she didn't want to have to raise a little brat along with her son. She couldn't believe that Lily was ruining her life again. Even from the grave her sister liked to make her miserable.


	24. Girl's Night

**QL, Wigtown Wanderers, Beater 1, Round 7.**

 **Theme: Movies that killed their franchise - Scream 4**

 **Prompts: [Object] Letter [Object] Toy Car [Word] Watch**

 **Word Count: 1603**

 **Beta's: 2DaughtersofAthena, Aya**

* * *

Ginny's eyes were wide as she stared at the screen. She still wasn't totally used to the television or movies. It just seemed so real sometimes. Hermione said that this animated movie would be a fun family film, but it was so torturous! The happy ending wasn't enough to to calm down her racing heart.

"What'd you think?" Hermione asked casually as she turned off the television.

"What'd I think? That was scary! He was lost and trying to find his way home… _narrowly_ avoiding being killed several times! Why would anybody watch something so… so…"

Hermione stood up. "It's a kid's movie, Gin. Besides, Nemo made it home safely."

Ginny nodded. One day she'd get used to movies. They were like books, so she wasn't sure why she got so affected by them. She knew that Hermione found her reactions hilarious - maybe she subconsciously played them up just for her. "Well… no more movies until you tell me what's going on with you."

"Nothing's going on with me," Hermione defended as she walked into the kitchen part of the open living area.

"Really? Because you hardly see Ron anymore."

She received a confused glance from her friend. "I see him all the time."

Ginny watched Hermione look around before pointing over to the side. There laid the toy car that Ron had brought for Teddy but hadn't quite got around to giving it to him. Ginny had seen Ron with it this morning when he left early for work - she couldn't doubt that proof.

"When are we next seeing Teddy?"

"No changing the subject."

"Ron and I see each other all the time. We are fine!" Hermione declared.

"Then how come you've moved into an apartment alone in the muggle world? Why didn't you move in with Ron?"

Hermione gave her a questioning look. "Ron lives in the Burrow."

"Your point?"

"I'm not moving in with him and his parents. Besides, we're taking it slow."

"Slow–" Ginny stopped immediately and starred in the direction of an unexpected sound.

"It's just the phone, Gin," Hermione explained before answering. "Hello? Who is it? Sorry, you have the wrong number."

Ginny watched her friend put the phone down on the side. "Who was that?"

"Just a prank-caller."

Ginny looked at the phone suspiciously before continuing - no point getting worried over a prank call. Movies weren't a reality. The horror she watched last week was not going to happen. She took a deep breath before continuing her line of questioning. "Slow?" she prompted.

Hermione sighed as she opened the fridge and pulled out two bottles of water. She handed one to Ginny before answering. "It was in the heat of battle that we really connected with our feelings. Then we only had a short while together before I went back to Hogwarts. Now that I'm out… I think we both need time to figure out who we are individually and as a couple before we make any big decisions like moving in with one another."

Ginny, unfortunately, couldn't find any fault with that reasoning. Her friend was always the rational one of the two, she would happily move in with Harry if he asked - then again, they had been on and off dating for longer than Hermione and her brother. "One day we'll be sisters," she declared.

A laugh filled the room but the curly haired girl didn't deny it.

The phone rang again. Hermione looked at it confused before answering it. "Hello? You have the wrong number again." She hung up and placed it back down.

"Prank call?" Ginny asked. She received a nod in response. "Is that not strange? Maybe we should go to the Burrow for girls' night?" The ginger had a bad feeling about these calls. She knew Hermione would try to convince her otherwise. It was only because she wasn't used to muggle technology, but there was just something not right about two prank calls within a few minutes.

"The idea of a girl's night was so we wouldn't get interrupted, Gin. The Burrow is really busy, that's why you insisted we come to mine," Hermione reminded her.

"We are getting interrupted. Your phone has gone off twice."

Hermione gave her a soft smile. "It won't happen again."

Just as the last word left her mouth, the phone began to ring again.

The slightly older women looked at the object in disbelief.

"Are you just going to watch it?"

She received a nod in reply.

"You're not going to answer it?"

"No, Gin. I haven't really given my home number out to anybody important. It's probably some kids messing around."

Ginny nodded, accepting her answer, she would still feel safer at the Burrow, though.

"That movie really freaked you out. I'm not sure we should watch movies anymore."

Just as the younger woman opened her mouth to debate, somebody knocked at the door.

"Who could that be?" Hermione asked out loud as she watched towards the door, the knife still in her hand.

A sudden panic filled Ginny. "Don't answer it!"

Thankfully, Hermione paused, but it wasn't due to her words, it was because of the letter that had been slipped underneath the door. The brown-haired woman bent down and picked it up. As she unfolded the letter, the phone rang again.

Ginny looked at the phone and then read the letter over Hermione's shoulder. It read: _Answer the phone or you and your friend dies_.

"'Mione…"

"Fine. We'll go to the Burrow. This is probably just a prank from Harry or one of your brothers, though," Hermione said. She pocketed the letter and grabbed the toy car from the side.

There was another knock on the door.

Ginny watched as Hermione pulled out her wand and cast a protection charm before grabbing hold of her arm. "Ready?" As Ginny nodded, she felt her whole body being pulled through space.

Reality left her.

Finally, her feet touched the ground.

She took a deep breath and just before she let it out she saw a single letter on the table in front of her. "What's that?"

"It has your name on it," Hermione pointed out.

With shaking hands, the younger of the two women reached forward and picked up the letter. She read it slowly, repeating the words continuously before looking at her friend for support. "It says to go outside."

"Let's go outside then."

Ginny shook her head vigorously. "What if there's a man with a knife?" she asked. She still hadn't gotten over that horror Hermione had shown her last week. She was constantly making Harry wake up in the middle of the night to make sure there was nobody hiding in the room. The hope was by watching 'Finding Nemo' that she'd feel better and know it wasn't real, but that wasn't working.

"What if there's a man with a wand?" countered her friend.

"I'd rather take on a man with a wand than a man with a knife," Ginny responded.

The younger girls felt Hermione grab her arm and drag her towards the back door.

"No. 'Mione! Don't! Please! It's a trap. It's not a prank! You're going to get us both killed!"

"Calm down!"

Ginny couldn't face watching this all happen so she squeezed her eyes closed and waited for the pain. Her feet stumbled over something but her eyes still remained closed. Suddenly, the stopped. Hermione let go of her and Ginny felt exposed. A chill ran up her back from the cool wind that was blowing her hair out of her face.

When nothing happened - no sound, no smell, no ax-murderer or a man with a knife, she opened her eyes. A gasp left her lips as Harry was a few feet in front of her on one knee with a small box in his hand. He opened it to reveal an engagement ring.

"Ginny. Ginevra Weasley. You have always been a good part of my life. As the years went by we drew closer. I wouldn't have it any other way. I hope that we continue to grow closer together. Ginny… Will you marry me?"

Her mouth hung open for a second as it turned into a massive grin. Before she managed to reply, a squeak left her mouth. "Yes! I will!"

She threw herself into Harry's arms. A few seconds later he pulled back and slipped the ring onto her finger and they shared a kiss.

At first Ginny thought she was imagining the claps and cheers until she was pulled away from her fiance of two seconds and was embraced by her mother. She pretended that she hadn't jumped at the sudden contact before hugging her mum back.

Ginny couldn't believe it. She was engaged! She was going to marry Harry.

"Aren't you glad it was just a man with a ring," Hermione teased a few minutes later from behind her.

Slowly, Ginny began to realise something. She turned around and looked at her friend. "You set me up! You… you…"

Hermione smirked. "It wasn't my idea," she admitted.

Ginny shook her head in disbelief before looking around at everybody. Her whole family was here. Another reason for them all to get together. A blue and white toy car caught her attention. She watched the glee in Teddy's eyes as Ron handed him the present. Hermione must have already given it back to him.

She continued to look and saw Bill and Charlie in fits of laughter as they were reading something. Instantly, Ginny recognised it as the letter that was pushed under the door at Hermione's - it was them! She was going to kill them!


	25. Lost In Another Realm

THC - Round 4 - Year 1 - Hufflepuff.

Prompt 1 - Once Upon A Time

Prompt 2 - Lily Luna Potter

Prompt 3 - A Penny

Note: Set in Lily Luna's first year at Hogwarts, and set just after Season 6 and before Season 7 (So after Henry leaves Storybrooke but before he's cursed).

Word Count: 2,966

Beta's: Aya, Magi (Thank you so much you two! You're incredible!)

* * *

Lily Luna Potter frowned at Professor McGonagall. How could she be so stupid to believe her idiot brother over herself? Lily was the good student, the first year. She should be innocent until proven guilty. Instead she was getting chastised in the professor's office. She always was the sweetheart of the family and read all the books required–even the extra reading Aunt Hermione suggested. She always offered to help others. Yet, three weeks into Hogwarts and the eleven-year-old discovered how unfair the school was and how this professor obviously favoured her brother.

It was a mistake to get on the bad side of a Potter, especially this little fire-rocket.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Professor McGonagall asked after the long droning speech about what she did wrong.

Lily looked her straight in the eye and said, "Go to hell."

The shock was evident on the old lady's face, as well as her brother's. Most people didn't believe she even knew that language, but she did, and she would not tolerate being bullied.

The eleven-year-old ignored everything from that point. She simply played with the penny her Uncle Dudley gave her. Her parents would not be proud of her right now. She did, however, make a note of when her first detention was. Hanging out with Hagrid in the forest didn't seem like a bad idea–it seemed the school hadn't changed since her Dad attended. At least it would be a learning experience.

* * *

Lily grew nervous about her detention as the day went on because she hadn't heard from her parents yet. Would her mother send a howler? Would her father tell her he was disappointed? Would her uncle want his penny back? All of her emotions were in overdrive. She felt like she would break as she walked towards Hagrid's hut. Her nerves settled slightly as she saw a variety seven other first years. Her fear was mildly replaced by confusion–how could seven first years all get detention in one day?

"Right! First years. The sun is settin' an' it'll be dark soon. Yeh all goin' to go into the forest an' collect herbs an' meet back here in an hour."

"Meet back?" Lily questioned. Hagrid wasn't about to suggest splitting up, was he? Surely he knew better.

The half-giant nodded. "Yeh four head down there. If yeh follow the path, yeh'll find what you need. Us four," he said pointing to the three Ravenclaws and himself, "will head this way. Don't get lost an' stay together."

Lily had no choice but to listen to the Professor–he was a Professor right?–and follow the two Hufflepuffs and one Slytherin into the increasingly dark forest. The Hufflepuffs stayed together. They must've gotten in trouble together, but Lily hadn't learnt their names. She knew the Slytherin though: Mitchell Zabini. She knew he was smart and quiet. In the supposedly inspired new system, Professor Flitwick assigned seats and she sat by him. They didn't talk much. After all, both of them were quite good at charms so they never needed to. Now that she was thinking about it, she didn't know a lot about him.

"Keep up," Mitchell ordered, breaking her from her thoughts.

She jogged to keep up with him. "Hey."

"Hey."

"What'd you do?" Lily inquired.

The Slytherin shrugged. "The system's rigged. We have to progress at the speed and level they decide. Not too slow and not too fast. It's stupid."

Lily found herself nodding in agreement. Any attempt she had to get ahead of the class seemed to be squashed. "I guess you're right."

"Oi! Where're you two going!" he suddenly demanded as the Hufflepuffs turned around.

They both muttered things like 'too dark' or 'too scary'.

"Idiots. I never liked Beswick and Lowan."

That was their names! Both were Muggle-borns if she remembered correctly. Nobody she'd met before Hogwarts anyway. The benefit of her parents being famous was that she met nearly every single wizard child as she grew up. "I wonder what they did."

"Used a cheating quill on their homework."

Lily's eyes widened as she looked in the direction they went. Cheating? She would have never guessed.

The two of them continued to idly chat until they reached the destination. Mitchell knew exactly what to do so it only took a few minutes to collect more than they needed.

"Think we should head back?"

Mitchell looked at her and shook his head. "Not yet. We've got plenty of time."

Lily knew they _should_ head back. However, she was already in detention, so what did a little rule-breaking matter now? "What'd you wanna do?"

Mitchell made a thoughtful noise before pulling out a piece of parchment from his pocket. "I saw this spell that I wanted to try about going to a different world."

"A different world? Like Mars?"

He shrugged.

Lily walked closer and looked down at the spell. "What's magic dust?"

"Like… pixie dust or something. I have some."

"You carry pixie dust?"

"My little sister brought it for me," he replied with another shrug. "Wanna try it?"

Lily bit her lip. She knew it wasn't safe to practice spells without a professor around, especially in the middle of the Forbidden Forest. But what's the worst that could happen? "Alright."

The two read the spell together carefully. They discussed the possible outcomes and went over the other spells they knew. They weren't the best at anything, but surely two eleven-year-olds couldn't complete a spell meant for advanced wizards. It was just mucking around.

They were wrong.

A portal opened.

They both jumped in.

Lily squeezed her eyes shut until she heard Zabini groan in dissatisfaction. Opening her eyes slowly, she looked around in confusion.

"It didn't work. We're still in the forest."

"Mitchell…"

"What?"

"This isn't the same area."

Mitchell looked around, his eyes slowly widening. "You're right. Are we still in the Forbidden Forest, though?"

Lily shrugged. "This is my first time in it. I don't know."

"My Dad's gonna kill me."

"Mine too," Lily groaned.

* * *

Half an hour later the two were walking around the forest trying to find clues on how to get home. Or at least find out where they were.

Lily was bored. It felt like they had been walking for longer than they were and she just wanted to sit down. She almost jumped when Mitchell grabbed her arm. "Did you hear that?"

Mitchell nodded as he slowly began to pull her backwards. "Can you climb?"

"Climb?" she repeated.

Instead of replying, Mitchell pulled her arm up in a weird angle as he climbed up a large while trying to help her. She quickly followed and only stopped when Mitchell sat down on a branch. "Stay quiet."

"I'm sure it is just Hagrid looking for us?"

Mitchell knew that she didn't even believe her own words. "If you say so."

She pulled out her penny and twiddled it between her fingers as they waited. Her uncle taught her that there was always a magical solution for something, but also a Muggle solution. She was probably too young to know the magical solution, that didn't mean she couldn't come up with a Muggle one instead. First, she'd see if she could think of any magical ones.

She took a deep breath before looking at Mitchell. "We need to work out what to do."

"I'm listening."

"What's the reversal for the spell?"

He hesitated. "I, uh, dunno. There wasn't one, I think."

Great. He was an idiot. Who would try a spell without a plan of returning back if it worked? "Then we do the spell again."

Mitchell nodded. "We just need to get some pixie dust."

"What?"

"I don't have any more."

Lily leant heavily against the tree. She didn't want to hunt this unknown place for stupid dust. She wanted to go home. She wanted her parents.

"Hello, up there!" a male voice called.

Lily and Mitchell both looked down at the man. Both remained silent.

"Are you two kids alright?"

Mitchell nodded, but Lily knew they couldn't stay up in this tree waiting to be rescued forever. "No. We can't get back home."

"Let me help you."

"It could be a trap," Mitchell whispered.

Lily sighed. "I know. But he's an adult." After a second of hesitation, she began her descent of the tree. Mitchell opted to follow her.

Once they were back on the ground, Lily stayed as close to Mitchell as possible.

"I'm Henry. Henry Mills."

"I'm Lily and this is Mitchell," she introduced.

Henry nodded. "Nice to meet you. So, where are you trying to get to?"

"Back to the Forbidden Forest."

The adult with dark-brown hair looked thoughtful for a moment. "I haven't heard of that one. I'm sure we can all find it, though."

Lily looked at Mitchell, trying to hide her panic. He must have been a Muggle. They were doomed.

"It's in the UK. Where are we now?" Mitchell asked, taking charge.

Confusion crossed over the strangers' features. "We're in the Enchanted Forest."

"The what?"

Lily crossed her arms. "That's a fairytale!"

"How did you two get here?" Henry asked, his mouth transforming into a smile. "It's really hard to cross between the realms."

Now Lily was confused. It seemed like Henry knew about crossing worlds, or realms, but not the Forbidden Forest. Perhaps he _was_ a wizard who went to a different wizarding school. Unfortunately, she couldn't ask him in case he was a Muggle. She was already in enough trouble, she didn't want to add to it.

Instead, she made the informed decision to fall completely silent and hold onto her penny as if it would magically transport them back home. The eleven-year-old never wished for her Dad to use something as a portkey than she did now.

"Can you get us back to the UK… or back to our… realm?" Mitchell inquired.

Henry nodded. "I can. We just need to find a magic bean. They are difficult to get ahold of. How did you get here to begin with?"

It seemed like the older man was really interested in their answer.

Mitchell looked at her before answering truthfully. "A spell."

"Didn't know there was a spell for that."

"You're a wizard, right?" Mitchell asked - he obviously didn't care about the consequences if he was wrong.

Henry laughed. "No. My parents were gifted with magic, though."

"You're a Squib?" Lily asked, breaking her silence and pocketing the penny. They might actually get home. It sounded like this man knew what he was talking about, even if it was different from what they knew.

Once again, Henry proved that he did not know about the wizarding world by shrugging. "Let's get going. You two must be hungry."

Lily wasn't. They had dinner right before detention and it hadn't been that long - even though it felt like it had been hours, it was probably only about three.

"Where are we going?" Mitchell questioned. He didn't manage to hide his suspicion or reluctance.

"To my home. It's almost dark. We'll set out in the morning to get you a magic bean."

Lily looked up at the darkening sky. She wasn't sure why she didn't notice there was daylight left until it was pointed out that the sun was setting. She noticed Mitchell taking a few steps to follow Henry and quickly caught up with them. Instinctively, she took his hand to keep from getting left behind. This was not the type of place she wanted to be lost in alone. Mitchell glanced down, then at her, but didn't say anything or pull away.

They walked closely side by side together and followed Henry a few steps behind. The older man was talking to them, telling them facts about where they were, about his family, how his mother saved him from a curse that his other mum inflicted. It was a very interesting story and distracted Lily from the situation they were in for a while. He had told them so much that by the time they got to his home, she was exhausted. That was a lot of information and a long walk.

Regardless of how tired she was, she held onto Mitchell's hand like her life depended on it. He was her lifeline right now.

They walked through the doorway together and looked around. It was a nice cosy home. It seemed like they were in the 1800s with the decor and structure of the home. Obviously, Henry lived here alone.

The rest of the night was uneventful. Henry cooked them all stew, which they had with bread. Mitchell and Lily took his bed as he said he could sleep elsewhere. Lily wasn't sure where he slept though as she had fallen asleep almost instantly and Henry had woken the both of them up.

"Morning. Breakfast is ready. Once we've eaten, we'll head out."

Mitchell groaned and covered his eyes - Lily was the first of the two to pull herself out of the bed and sit down for breakfast. It was porridge. When Mitchell did finally get out of bed, his first question concerned the toilets. That wasn't the greatest experience. Who could live without plumbing?

Lily once again opted to hold onto Mitchell's hand as they made their way through the Enchanted Forest. She had yet to discover why it was so enchanted but didn't want to ask. Henry really liked to talk and she wasn't so sure her brain could take in any more information than it already had.

"Lily," Mitchell spoke.

"Yes?"

"What's that?"

Lily looked at her free hand and realised she was subconsciously fiddling with the penny again. "Oh, it's nothing."

"If it's nothing, then why do you keep playing with it?"

Lily looked at her classmate with surprise. She hadn't realised that he'd been paying that much attention to her and what she was doing. Had he noticed every time she brought it out? Was this just the second time? "It's just a penny."

Mitchell gave her a look to elaborate.

"Muggle money. It wouldn't actually buy you anything. It's like a sickle. My uncle gave it to me - said it was lucky."

"Can I look?"

Lily hesitated. She wasn't even sure why this penny was so important to her. It wasn't even worth much. Perhaps it was because she might never see her uncle again. It had been three years since she saw him after her Dad reconnected. Her uncle wasn't really a point of conversation in the house. Eying the penny as if to memorise it, she handed it over to Mitchell who took his time in examining it.

"Bronze?"

"Copper, I think."

"Cool," Mitchell uttered before handing it back.

Lily instantly pocketed it. She didn't want to lose it, nor did she want Mitchell to think he could ask more questions. Even though she trusted him, she wasn't ready to talk to anybody about the parts of her life that weren't perfect.

A comfortable silence fell between them. Henry gauged that they had finished and started another story about his life. Lily had gotten over the fascination by then. They had stopped for lunch, meaning it had been a long, long travel already.

"Are we there yet?" Lily questioned, unable to stand another step.

"Nearly."

"How long?" Mitchell continued the questioning.

"Not long."

"A minute?"

"An hour?"

"A day?" The two of them asked alternatively.

"Want to take a break?"

Mitchell and Lily nodded eagerly. The thought of sitting down made her even more tired. If allowed, she would happily take a nap.

Henry nodded and found them a place nearby to take a break.

Barely a minute had passed before the older man stood. "You two wait here. I'm going to walk ahead. I'll be back before sunset."

Lily watched the adult walk off with anticipation filling her.

"Guess he was fed up of babysitting us," Mitchell commented.

"He'll come back, right?"

"Of course."

It wasn't long after Henry left that Mitchell raided the bag he left, getting them both something to eat and drink. The two of them hung out in the location. There wasn't much point moving or getting worried until sunset. The best thing they could do was have faith in a complete stranger.

Lily found herself playing with the penny again as the sun began to set. Henry had not kept his promise and it was starting to get cold. They were even more lost than they were before. "We should have gone with him."

"Too late now," Mitchell retorted.

Lily stood up. "We should look for shelter."

Mitchell opened his mouth to respond when they heard rustling. He jumped up and pulled Lily closer to him, his free hand hovering over his pocket. His wand.

That would have been a useful thing to remember yesterday when they were attacked by the bear. Though… she didn't really know any spells that would stop a bear.

"Just me," Henry greeted as he came into view.

Lily felt all of her panic dissipate.

He showed them something in his hand. "I've got it."

"What do we do?" Mitchell instantly questioned.

"You need to think of where you want to go. Throw it on the ground. Then jump into the portal."

That sounded easy enough. They both said a short goodbye to Henry before holding hands. Forbidden Forest. Forbidden Forest. Forbidden Forest.

Mitchell threw the bean down and a portal appeared. Hopefully, it went to the right place.

Lily suddenly had a thought and put her hand into Mitchell's pocket to get the spell. She handed it to Henry. "In case you needed it." Then without further hesitation, she grabbed Mitchell's hand and jumped into the portal.

They were back to the place they started. In a lot of trouble. But safe.


	26. The Little Things In Life

**QL, Wigtown Wanderers, Beater 1, Round 9.**

 **Theme: Girl Power - Nymphadora Tonks**

 **Prompts: [Dialogue] "It's so good to be home." [Setting] Treehouse. [Word] Rich**

 **THC [Y3], Hufflepuff, Round 5, Year 1, Standard.**

 **Prompt: [Colour] Gold.**

 **Word Count: 1468**

 **Beta's: Lynne, Magi, Aya.**

* * *

 **The Little Things In Life**

* * *

Nymphadora Tonks grinned widely as her mother bent down and handed her her birthday present. She was six today. With glee, she hugged the gold envelope to her chest. Her mother was the best person in the world! How did she know that Dora's favourite colour was gold today? She only knew that when she woke up with sparkling gold hair.

"Open it, Dora," her Dad encouraged happily.

The little girl didn't need any more encouragement before slowly undoing the neatly wrapped present. Her excitement got the better of her as she ripped it open right at the end and pulled out the present. "A book?"

"It's a spell book, Dora. I thought you'd like it."

Dora looked thoughtful for a second; were her parents tricking her to read more? Or was this the best book ever to exist? She looked down at it. "Learning spells," she read before gasping with delight. "Is it a real spell book?"

Her father chuckled. "You'll have to read it and find out."

"But first," her mother said while holding out another, larger, gift, "let's finish opening the presents."

Dora giggled and put the book down neatly on the small pile she had created. This was more presents than she had ever gotten before — though, she thought that every time. Days like this made her feel like she was rich. She took the gold-wrapped present again and proceeded to hug it. This time it was squishy. New clothes! Without further ado, she pulled the gold wrapping paper apart to reveal a pair of jeans, two tops, a dress, _and_ socks! "Thank you!" she squeaked, jumping up and hugging her parents. "This is the best birthday ever!"

* * *

Later that day, Dora held her hands over her eyes as she was led outside into the garden.

"No peeking," her mother said.

Dora really, really wanted to peek. What was the big surprise? Surely her parents couldn't beat the presents they've already got her. Was somebody visiting? If so, who?

"Open your eyes!" her parents chorused.

Dora removed her hands slowly and looked around. Her mouth dropped open in shock as she saw the most amazing treehouse in the entire world.

To her, it reached the sky! But her Dad could easily see through the window.

"Is it mine?"

"Daddy built it just for you."

Dora threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She squeezed him a bit tighter before letting go with one hand and allowing her mother to join in. "You two are the best parents _ever_!"

Dora took her time to look at the treehouse. She climbed into it and just knew how much love was put into making it for her. It was perfect.

With excitement, she ran inside and collected the rest of her gifts and brought them outside with her. She carefully placed her new belongings on the wooden floor, smoothed out her dress, and sat down comfortably on the beanbag she had gotten for her fifth birthday last year.

Dora looked around the treehouse; she felt like the luckiest girl in the world. She didn't know anybody whose life was enriched enough to have one all to themselves. She felt rich with all the gifts she had received and from the love her parents gave her.

After a moment of feeling thankful for everything, she picked up the book she had just received. It was time to learn some spells.

The book was interesting, but as the sun began to set, little Dora felt her eyelids close. As she let herself succumb to sleep, she felt her mother pick her up and carry her in. She had the best parents ever.

* * *

Eleven-year-old Dora was ecstatic to go to Hogwarts. She would learn so much and meet so many amazing people. "What house will I be in?"

"You'll have to wait to be sorted," her father answered with a laugh.

Dora nodded and picked up the paintbrush. After a bit of begging, her parents agreed to paint her treehouse gold. Of course, Dora tended to opt for more eccentric hair colours these days, but gold was still a personal favourite that she wore for every one of her birthdays. Especially since she had learnt to control her gift.

With messy strides, the painting began. It was supposed to be the whole family, but her mother had something unexpected to attend to.

"Why were you and Mum in different houses?"

Her father paused at her question and raised an eyebrow. "We just were. Why?"

Dora shrugged. "She was expected to marry another Slytherin, wasn't she?"

"Yes, her family didn't approve of me," he responded cautiously.

Dora's mother was a lot better at keeping secrets than her father so she always questioned him when they were alone. "Would you be disappointed if I married a Slytherin?"

"As long as you love them… Why are we talking about you getting married? And why a Slytherin?"

"There's half a chance I'll be a Slytherin and half a chance I'll be a Hufflepuff. I'm just going through the options," she responded thoughtfully. Dora giggled as the gold paint spluttered over her. She really wasn't good at painting. "And Slytherins are rich, aren't they? Mum was when she was a Slytherin and her family has a huge house. Then I'll be rich too and I'll pay everybody off to accept all Muggle-borns."

Her Dad was silent for a few moments. "You can be in any of the four houses; you definitely have the confidence for Gryffindor," he told her cheekily.

Dora pretended to be offended for a split-second before laughing. "Nah. I think I'll be a Hufflepuff like you, Dad! And then I'll marry a Slytherin like you did!"

Her father laughed. "How about you wait to meet your future husband instead of deciding what house they should be in. You should only marry for love and not worry about what others think of you, me, or anybody else."

She looked up at him and shrugged. "Okay. I doubt they'd be a Gryffindor though – that'll be too much confidence in one relationship."

"Since when did you become boy-crazy?"

"I'm not boy-crazy! Just planning my future." Dora giggled. She didn't really care what relationship she had in the future, but if her Dad was worried about boys, he shouldn't be too worried when she gets in trouble. There was no way she could sit still in a class for a whole hour, let alone a day of classes. It was best to plan ahead. "I think his name will be… Barry."

"Like Barry your bear?"

Dora made a noise of confirmation.

"I thought you said you emptied the treehouse?" her dad questioned poking his head out of the window. Uh oh.

She giggled. "I did."

He held up a box of sweets.

"That's my emergency supply! I had to keep it hidden."

The box was returned to its 'hiding spot' but not before he took one of the sweets and popped one into his mouth.

Dora fake gasped before laughing. She was going to miss him when she was at Hogwarts. When she'd wake up tomorrow, she'd be leaving to get on the train.

* * *

Christmas holidays were upon Hogwarts. It was time for students to go home — those who wanted to, anyway. Tonks — formerly known as Dora — was eager to go home and see her parents. She had missed them so much! That was one thing she hadn't thought about going to Hogwarts — the fact that her parents weren't there.

The nearer the train got to Platform nine and three quarters, the more excited she became. Her hair was changing colour every minute. Green. Red. Gold. Pink. Brown. Black. Yellow. Turquoise. The second she saw her parents standing on the platform waiting for her it turned into a bubblegum pink and remained that shade all the way home.

"Home, sweet home," her dad said as he put her trunk down.

Tonks took a breath. "It's good to be home."

"Just good?" her mother teased.

"It's so good to be home," she amended. Tonks breathed in the delicious smell of her favourite cake. "So, so good!"

"She's smelt them," her mother stated.

"Told you she would."

"What are we waiting for? Let's go eat them in the treehouse!" Tonks exclaimed grinning ear from ear. "I have so much to tell you! And I want to hear _everything_ that happened since I was away! I don't want to miss a thing."

Her parents shared a glance. "I'll get the cake."

"Let's go."

Home was the best place Tonks could think of. Even Hogwarts was second to it. If possible, Tonks would wish to stay at home all the time. It really was so good to be home.


	27. I'm baaaack!

**QL, Wigtown Wanderers, Beater 1, Round 10.**

 **Theme: Soapies - Write about a character thought to be 'dead' coming back to life.**

 **Prompts: [Word] Poisonous; [Object] Potion Vial;**

 **THC [Y3], Hufflepuff, Round 6, Year 1, Standard.**

 **Prompt: [Speech] "You didn't hear it from me, but,"**

 **Word Count: 1491**

 **Beta's: Aya, Lynne**

* * *

Harry was excited and nervous as he waited for the Hogwarts Express to bring his oldest child back from Hogwarts for Christmas. James had been over-excited to attend the infamous school, but would he feel the same after a few months there?

Ginny had wanted to be there more than anything, however, little Lily had come down with a sickness. Harry had promised to bring James back home instantly when he got off the train and that he wouldn't mention his sister's sickness. It was best that James was at home and able to see her when he found out. That information could almost be poisonous to his son. He would worry relentlessly.

The noise around him increased, which alerted him to the presence of the train in the distance. He couldn't wait to hear about all of the adventures that his son got up to at school. The seconds seemed to slow as he continued to wait patiently.

Finally, the train door opened. Children began flooding out of the doors and finding their family members. A flash of bright blue caught his attention and made him smile. Teddy was heading towards him through the crowd with James in tow.

"Welcome back!" he greeted his Godson and son as he pulled them into a hug.

"Thanks!" Teddy beamed before looking around and spotting his guardian. "See you at dinner tomorrow!"

Harry waved goodbye before slinging an arm over his son and leading them towards the exit. "How was Hogwarts?"

James' lips turned upwards into a massive grin. "Even better than you described! It was amazing. Brilliant. Fantastic!"

A laugh left his lips at his sons enthusiasm.

"Where's Mum?"

"Waiting to give you a never-ending hug at home," Harry answered ruffling his son's hair. "Ready?" he asked as they reached an apparition spot.

James nodded confidently and took a deep breath. "Let's go home."

* * *

Harry was still grinning as he overheard his oldest sons energetic stories from his times at Hogwarts. The eleven-year-old was currently telling Albus about what he had learnt and what to expect when he'd join Hogwarts. Harry just hoped none of the stories involved getting into trouble.

He opened his son's trunk to start clearing it out and furrowed his brows. Why did James bring back empty potion vials? Potions wasn't one of the subjects he anticipated his son loving—perhaps there were things about his oldest he didn't know.

Harry picked up the books James brought back and took them over to the bookshelf where he could overhear the stories.

"That's so cool!" Albus reacted.

"And…" James paused, looking over to where Ginny was cooking. "You didn't hear it from me, but I heard that Voldemort has returned! That Dad didn't really kill him!"

"James Sirius Potter!" Harry boomed making both of his sons jump. "Go to your room."

James quickly jumped to his feet and ran up the stairs. Harry had never shouted at him that way before.

After composing himself and assuring Ginny everything was okay, he ascended the staircase to his son's bedroom. Harry closed the bedroom door silently before crossing the room and sitting on the bed beside him. "Why were you telling your brother stories like that?"

"They weren't stories, Dad. I was told he wasn't dead."

"Who told you?"

James shook his head. "I promised I wouldn't say. You can't tell anybody I told you; he'd be really mad."

Harry sighed. "James. I think your friend was lying. Voldemort is dead. He isn't coming back and he can't hurt anybody. You'll give your brother nightmares if you tell him otherwise."

"What if he _was_ back."

"He's not."

James sighed. "I didn't lie. Somebody told me."

"That person lied," Harry replied confidently, smoothing his son's hair.

James ran his own hands through the messy black hair. "Dad," he complained. "Not the hair."

Harry raised his hands in a mock-surrender. "Okay. Finish emptying out your trunk." James groaned. "And keep those vials away from your sister."

"Why? They're not poisonous or anything," he muttered as he pulled the door open and sauntered out.

"No, but they are glass," he called after him. Harry shook his head and sighed. He hadn't anticipated his son being lied to in that way or even that James would believe such nonsense. Perhaps he should send an owl to the Headmistress to inform her of what was happening.

* * *

A year and a half had passed without any more talk of Voldemort. Things seemed normal. That was one thing Harry missed out on during his childhood: normalcy. Even his extremely normal Aunt and Uncle hadn't provided him with a normal upbringing. Because of that, he would ensure his children had a secure, nurturing, safe, and traditional childhood.

His sons had just come home from Hogwarts, James completing his second year and Albus his first.

The two of them were connecting again. They had drifted apart in recent years so Harry was glad to see them back together as brothers.

The light glinted off something in Al's hand. It didn't take Harry long to realise it was a potion vial. His mind went back to James' bringing some back last year. However, this time, there was a grey-ish green liquid in the vial. What potion could it be? Harry didn't want to alarm them but made it his mission to find out what it was. He took a few steps back before letting out a cough and walking over to them. As he predicted Albus hid the vial. What the younger boy didn't realise was that his father watched exactly where he hid it—under the cushion.

"Hey, boys," he said, pretending to look around secretively. "You didn't hear it from me, but I hear your mum is making brownies!"

Instant glee erupted onto their faces as they raced each other out of the room towards the kitchen. Without hesitation, Harry went over to the couch and picked up the vial. There was no label on it and the potion was still bubbling—that wasn't a good sign in his opinion.

Harry trusted his sons, he truly did, however, he couldn't help but be suspicious. After a few seconds, he decided that the best action would be to simply ask Al what the potion was and why he brought it home.

He hid the potion vial in the palm of his hand as he walked to the kitchen. With a small smile he took in the moment of all three of his children sitting patiently at the table while his wife served up her famous freshly baked brownies—it was a family recipe.

"Before the brownies, can one of you boys explain why you brought back a potion vial?"

James shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Supplies for the future."

Albus, unfortunately for him, had never mastered lying. "Uh… yeah."

"Are they all empty?" Harry prompted.

The youngest of the brothers looked highly alarmed and James' cool demeanor remained mostly intact. "Are we allowed potions in the house?" the oldest son asked.

"Not when your mother and I don't know about them."

"Then nope, they're all empty," James replied confidently.

Harry revealed the potion vial. "Care to explain this?"

"It's not mine! I'm holding it for a friend!" Albus blurted, his breathing increasing in pace.

"Is it dangerous?"

Albus shook his head far too quickly for Harry's liking. Carefully, he examined both of his sons one at a time, looking for any indication that he could either trust that answer or not. Harry, in a moment of impulsiveness, opened the vial challengingly.

"Not dangerous at all?"

"Close it, Dad! Close it!" Albus shouted as James jumped up and grabbed the potion from his hands. Some of it spilt out and even his oldest son wasn't able to hide his apprehension.

"What is it?"

"Is it poisonous?" Ginny chimed in, quickly grabbing a cloth and her wand to clean up the mess.

"No! It's not poisonous. It's a summoning potion!" Albus cried, the panic evident in his voice. "We weren't going to use it!"

James was holding his hand over the top of the vial but was visibly shaking. "I'm sorry!"

Now Harry was getting worried. Summoning who? Why were his children so scared? Why was James apologising?

All became clear as Voldemort Apparated a few feet from him and his family. He was back. Alive. Standing in front of him.

"I knew you would come to my side, James," Voldemort lulled, a wand in his hand.

"How?"

"Your sons are very helpful. Letting me through the barriers and summoning me when you're at your weakest."

"Reducto!" Ginny cried.

Voldemort blocked the hit effortlessly.

Harry reached for his wand before remembering he no longer carried it on him all the time. He launched himself across the table to grab his children and get them to safety. The last thing he saw was tears running down his children's terrified faces. The last thing he heard was ' _Avada Kedavra.'_


	28. A Few More Steps

**THC - Round 6 - Year 1 - Hufflepuff - Drabble - Prompt: Attending a funeral - Word count: 357**

* * *

One step at a time. That was it. Left foot, right foot, left foot… Just a few more steps. Nearly there. It is possible to make it. Looking ahead at the destination, her feet slowed to a stop. It was too many steps to get there. Was it too late to turn back? To pretend like she wasn't about to bury my baby boy. She still remembered when he really was a baby, bright ginger hair with a red scrunched up as he cried for attention, wanting to be held.

She remembered Bill being absolutely fascinated about there being two of them, though, Charlie wasn't as interested. Percy was just confused at the 'sudden arrivals' and never wanted to play with them.

They were her smallest babies. He was so tiny when he was born. As babies it was easier to tell them apart, she would dress them differently or temporarily dye on a toe. Fred always wanted more hugs than George. George had been the adventurous one, pulling his twin into crazy situations.

Molly wondered if she had insisted for them to separate more if things would have been different? Would Fred still have died? Was she a bad mother for allowing her babies to become two 'peas in a pod' instead of individuals.

She looked over at George - she'd never mistake him for Fred again - and knew she had to take those last few steps to say goodbye. A hand on her lower back startled her. It was Arthur. He too was saying goodbye to a son - to their son.

Molly took a shaky breath and took one more step. The funeral had already started - it's like they knew she might not manage the last steps. She could still hear everything. How they talked about Fred's accomplishments and his life. His short life. Her baby boy had so much more potential than to die so early.

In an attempt to take another step, the mother of seven - or was it six now? - crumbled. Her legs gave in beneath her as she fell to the ground and cried. She couldn't make it those last few steps.


	29. The Nightmare Dog

**QL, Wigtown Wanderers, Beater 1, Round 10. Theme: Cujo. Prompts: "Stay out of my room." - Lilac - With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts. Word Count: 1035. Beta: Aya :)**

 **AU - Harry raised by his parents/Voldie doesn't exist.**

* * *

Seven-year-old Harry sprung up to a seated position in his bed. Sweat dampened his forehead as he tried to control his laboured breath. His hair was even more wild than usual. The dreams were so vivid, so real. He knew that he had no reason to be afraid of any animal, especially with his Godfather being a dog, his father being a stag, and his uncles being a rat and a werewolf. That knowledge didn't stop the nightmares or make little Harry less scared of the dog in his visions.

This night, the seven-year-old was too scared to get out of his bed and walk to his parent's room like he had every night that week. Harry stared fearfully at his bedroom door - what if the dog was on the other side? Would he attack? Bite him? Would he be infected and die? Staying on the bed was the safest option for now. Besides, he didn't want to wake up his parents again.

Slowly - as if to not alert anybody of him being awake - Harry pulled a lilac blanket over his head. The blanket smelt of lavender and always helped him fall back to sleep. His mother had bought it for him when he was two after he fell asleep on it when they were shopping. It had yet to let him down.

A few long breaths were taken and Harry allowed his heavy eyelids to close. Unfortunately, the blankets magical powers didn't work this time. Harry's eyes flew open at the sound of a creak. It was here. The dog had finally arrived. He would never see his parents again. Nor his uncles.

The handle squeaked and pure panic filled the black-haired boy. "Stay out of my room!" he shouted suddenly, throwing the lilac blanket towards the door in hopes to stop it from swinging open and halting the dog in its tracks.

Once again, his beloved blanket failed to stop the door, however, it wasn't a dog who rushed over to maim him, but his father to comfort him.

Harry jumped into his father's arms and hugged him tightly. He must have been checking in on him.

"How about you sleep in our room," his father whispered holding him closely as he carried him out of the room.

Harry felt his eyelids close now that he was safe in the arms of his father. The last thing he remembered seeing was the lone lilac blanket on his bedroom floor before he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The nightmares continued for the next few days. It was clear to Harry that his parents were worried. Recently his uncles seemed to be taking turns to sleep over. Tonight it was Peter.

"Uncle Pete?"

"Hmm," his uncle replied, seemingly caught off guard.

"Can I become an animagus like you and Dad and Sirius?" he inquired.

Pete shook his head. "No, not until you're an adult."

Harry sighed. "I wish I could now."

His uncle put an arm around his shoulders supportively. "To fight off your nightmare dog?"

He shook his head and looked up at him. "No. I want to be a rat like you. Then I could hide away anywhere I want. I don't want to fight him, I'd lose."

"Harry, you listen to me now," Pete said seriously. "You are one of the bravest people I know. You can fly on a broom above all of the houses without batting an eyelid. I've seen you running head first into the unknown. You've nearly given Lily a heart attack the amount of times she's found you on the roof."

Harry chuckled at that. He did find it funny how his father got in trouble for doing fun things like climbing onto the roof too.

"You are brave. Believe me when I tell you that you can do anything you put your mind to. Your nightmare dog cannot defeat you unless you let it."

"But what if it—"

"You cannot change the past and you cannot decide the future. What you can do is choose how to live in the present." He paused. "Do you want to live your life always afraid?"

Harry shook his head.

"Do you want to hide away forever?"

Another shake.

Pete smiled. "You can face your nightmares, then. I believe in you."

Harry nodded. "Yeah! I can!"

He gave Peter a hug in thanks for listening to him and encouraging him to face his fears. For the first time in the last two weeks, Harry was looking forward to going to sleep. This time, though, when the dog turned up in his dreams, he'd be ready. Tomorrow, he'd wake up stronger. He wouldn't be afraid of the dog anymore. He would think differently. It was not going to get the best of him any longer.

* * *

A few weeks later, a week before his eighth birthday, Harry was tidying his room. He picked up his lilac blanket that he hadn't used since the nightmares. It had lost its value. His door swung open and his younger sister walked in. "Stay out of my room, Tulip! I'm tidying up and you'll just make a mess."

The five-year-old pouted. "But I'm bored! Can't we play?"

Harry shook his head. "No. If I don't tidy up I won't get any cake."

Tulip sighed sadly and turned away from him.

"Wait," he said softly, looking at the blanket. "I have something for you."

Tulip turned around eagerly. "Really?!"

Harry nodded and walked over to her. "Lilac's your favourite colour, right?" She nodded. "I think you should have this then. It smells of lavender and helps you sleep at night."

The amazement on his younger sisters face knew he was making the right decision as he handed it to her. She instantly hugged it and buried her face. A very muffled "Thank you" was heard before she ran excitedly from the room with it.

He smiled and walked over to his window. It was getting hot. As he turned the handle he saw the same dog from his nightmares standing opposite his home. His nightmare was finally coming true. But he would not let it overrun his life. He thought differently now. Besides, he couldn't get in... right?


	30. Manipulation

**QL, Wigtown Wanderers, Beater 1, Round 13. Theme: Leprechaun: Write about someone who thrives on manipulating or cheating others. Prompts: Getting down on one's knees. And Role; Spy.**

 **Word Count: 1003**

 **Betas: Aya, Dina**

* * *

Voldemort eyed up his followers as he took in a long breath. It had been years since he had a physical form, since he was defeated by the Potters on Halloween so long ago. That rat, Peter Pettigrew, had set up his return well. Little did the Order know that they hadn't truly defeated him, nor did they know his followers had just brought him back. Voldemort wasn't completely happy with how long it had taken them, after all, it had been years, over nine years. Feeding on unicorn blood wasn't the way he ever saw himself living.

With long strides, getting used to his new form, he approached one of his masked followers and held out his hand.

"Arm," he ordered. Taking that same Death Eater's wand, he pressed it down firmly against the Dark Mark on his forearm and summoned the rest of his inner circle. It was time he claimed his place as the leader and ensured they all remembered why they had chosen to follow him in the first place.

With satisfaction, he watched as they all dropped down to their knees as they arrived one by one. Most of them weren't here by choice, he knew, but he loved controlling others.

Now it was time for the whole world to learn to bend their knees to him. Voldemort smiled - he knew exactly where to start.

* * *

It wouldn't be easy. Nothing worthwhile ever was. Voldemort settled into his new headquarters and watched absently as the Death Eaters shuffled into their seats around his table. He was at the head of it, of course. They had their places, their uses, but Lord Voldemort always knew best.

He waved away their suggestions about what to do with the Potters - the only people who had so far survived him - and began his planning.

Because it didn't matter: the Potters had survived once, twice, thrice, four times - but never again.

* * *

Voldemort relished in the smooth but slimy feeling across his hand as Nagini snaked around his shoulders. It was a very important day for him, he would be using the connection he had with the Potter boy to manipulate him into walking straight into a trap. He had tested his ability a few times with great success, enjoying every single time the boy listened to him.

He had never shied away from the long game. Planning. Researching. To him, it made the kill more exhilarating and satisfying.

Closing his eyes, he entered Potter's mind. It was almost overpowering to feel the boy's excitement. It was a similar feeling to when he had been the same age - after all, the first train ride to Hogwarts was exciting for everybody. Voldemort would have to wait a few hours before he could tell if the eleven-year-old would heed his advice.

Before breaking the connection, Voldemort planted a few targeted ideas into the boy's head. He knew he was listening and his cockiness about having control of the Sorting Hat might be enough for him to choose the greatest house there was.

A few more hours and he'd know.

All he had to do was be patient.

* * *

Voldemort grew tired the more he was whispering into Potter's mind. It would be worth it if it worked.

 _Harry Potter_. He would recognise that voice anywhere. Professor McGonagall.

Show them who you are. Choose the right house. Think of your future.

 _Slytherin!_

Voldemort's lips turned upwards into a cunning sneer. He had manipulated the eleven-year-old who helped take him down into joining the house he controlled. All he had to do was wait for Malfoy to befriend him and lead him into his trap away from his parents.

Now that he had completed that part of the plan, it was time to move on to more planning. He would ensure the Ministry of Magic was infiltrated and everybody was ready to strike on his mark, it was just a matter of time now. It was time to purify the magical world once and for all.

* * *

Months later, Voldemort was pleased that his follower's son had succeeded in befriending the Potter boy. But would the eleven-year-old be able to get the boy isolated away from Hogwarts and his family? That was yet to be determined.

And if not… Well, Lord Voldemort had ways of making things go correctly.

* * *

Voldemort found his opportunity to get the boy away from protection earlier than he expected. Malfoy would definitely be rewarded greatly.

"Mr Potter," he spoke as he approached the two first years in the woods near Potter's house. "Mr Malfoy."

"Who are you?" Potter demanded.

A smirk crossed over Voldemort's lips at the boy's confidence. "You would have been a good Gryffindor like your parents."

Malfoy began stepping away, utter fear on his face. "Leave us alone."

Voldemort gracefully pulled out his wand and loved watching how Potter followed suit. Though utter disappointment filled him when Malfoy ran off - he would teach that boy to be a man. He would not accept a pureblood to act like that. "Do you know who I am?"

"A bad man."

"I am Lord Voldemort."

Potter's stance faltered and he visibly tensed. "You - You can't be. My parents defeated you!"

With a smirk and a wave of his wand, Voldemort said the two words that brought him the greatest feeling: " _Avada Kedavra_." The eleven-year-old didn't even have time to respond before falling down to the ground.

Voldemort felt part of him die inside too, but he was still strong and invincible with the Horcruxes he had created.

He approached the boy's body with glee. The prophecy was wrong. No child could take down the Dark Lord. Now, nobody would be able to stand in his way.

Casually flicking his wand, he levitated the body and manipulated it out of the woods. From the shadows he laid it down outside the Potter's home before summoning his signature symbol into the sky above before leaving.

That day, the 21st of December, 1991 marked his return and world dominance.


	31. Uncle Percy's Encounter With A Time Trav

**QL, Wigtown Wanderers, Beater 1, Finals Round 1. Theme: The Time Machine — H.G Wells Prompts: [word] Mindless [colour] Antique White [colour] Coral.**

 **Word Count: 1187**

 **Betas: Aya**

* * *

 **Uncle Percy's Encounter With A Time Traveller**

* * *

"Kids, sit down, I want to tell you a story about your Uncle Percy," Bill said to his three children gaining their instant attention. Stories about their family members were the most exhilarating in their opinion. It wasn't long until there was silence in the living room.

Bill smiled at the intrigued faces before taking a breath and beginning; "Percy Weasley was not the wizard one would expect to find in Brighton, more specifically, the muggle part of Brighton. To onlookers, he looked to be mindlessly walking around the seaside. But this Weasley was on a mission, sent by the Ministry, to find a time traveller. This wasn't any normal time traveller though, it was a muggle one.

"You're probably wondering how that is possible. How could a _muggle_ possibly possess the power to travel through time unless he managed to get ahold of a time timer? Well, kids…" Bill paused with a half smile. "It was made with pure science."

"Really?" Louis, being the youngest at 6 years old, questioned.

"How?" Victorie inquired.

Dominique didn't look as convinced. "I thought science was just accidental magical, Dad?"

Bill smiled at the questions but chose to not answer them, instead, he continued the story. "Percy was following the intel the Ministry had received but presumed he wouldn't find anything. You see, this wasn't too long after the war and things were still tense. Everybody was on edge. Everybody looked suspicious. Everybody was in mourning. But, Percy, as a highly trained Auror knew what to—"

"Wait… since when was Uncle Percy a highly trained Auror?" Dominique interrupted with a confused expression.

"Fine, Percy as a highly trained individual," he paused just long enough to ensure he wasn't going to be interrupted again, "knew exactly what to look for. He knew the signs of a time traveller, of somebody messing with time. So, as dusk began to set—"

"Is he about to find the time traveller?"

"Dominique, if you keep interrupting the story it'll take longer to find out the ending," Bill said to his 9-year-old daughter. "Where was I?"

Louis piped up. "Dusk!"

"Right. The sun began to set and Percy was thinking about retiring to his hotel room when a figure caught his eye. While everybody around him was wearing normal muggle clothing, there was a male wearing antique white and coral robes. The thing that Percy found strange was that they weren't wizarding robes. It could almost be mistaken for a dressing gown had Percy not known any better. With his senses high and his hand hovering close to his wand, he began to follow the unknown individual cautiously.

"After twenty minutes of keeping hidden in shadows, the male finally stopped and walked into a building. Quickly, as to not lose his target, Percy followed him in only to be caught. 'Why are you following me?' the male demanded of your uncle."

Louis gasped and covered his eyes.

"Uncle Percy calmly explained that he'd heard about a time machine and was curious. The two of them got to talking about time travel and the pros and cons. I think the man nearly lured your uncle into agreeing that the positives outweighed the negatives… nearly. As the man, who had introduced himself as Dave, finished his explanation of how he made the machine—"

"The time machine," his eleven-year-old daughter, Victorie, corrected.

"When Dave finished describing his time machine he offered your uncle a trip to the future."

"No way he said yes!" Dominique interjected.

"You're right Dom, he said no. Dave didn't like that, he got angry, accused Percy of wasting his time and not understanding. He wouldn't listen to your uncles' reason about the negative consequences of time travel. Then…" Bill paused for dramatic effect, "as Percy took a hold of Dave's jacket, the world around them changed. The once bright green walls of the room had dwindled. 'What happened?' was all your uncle could say before taking in the sight that was in front of him. Dave had taken Percy to the future."

Victorie's eyes were wide with surprise, hanging onto her fathers' every word.

None of his children spoke as they waited for him to continue. He also noticed that his wife, Fleur, was also listening from the doorway.

"It didn't take him too long to discover he had been taken five years into the future. Percy remained calm and told the time traveller to take him back to his own time. Instead, Dave took him further into the future, so far in the future that the world around them changed before his eyes. The building was knocked down. The surroundings became bare before new structures were built. Finally, they stopped. Everything had changed. Even the seaside had been replaced with a steady ocean.

"Percy was shocked. Even he couldn't think of a valid explanation besides time travel. Dave wandered away from him but thankfully stayed in sight. That's when Percy noticed that his travel partner's clothes had become a brighter shade of coral. Did travelling through time do that? Or was the lighting in this time different? Glancing up at the sun for a split second he knew that had been the wrong decision. Even he should have known that looking at the sun directly was a bad idea. He looked down to the ground as he regained sight in his eyes and noted that his normal white shirt was now more of the antique shade that Dave had been wearing earlier. Time travel definitely had something to do with this.

"But your uncle couldn't stay and examine everything. He knew that simply by participating in time travel he could be sent to Azkaban, even though he was unwilling from the start. He pulled out his wand. Of course as Dave was a muggle he didn't seem to care."

Bill paused and looked at each of his loved one's faces as he decided to skip over part of the story.

"He never did tell me how he managed to convince Dave to bring them back nor did he say how long he had been there, but they finally returned to the present day." Bill paused again, this time just because he could. "Percy wasn't able to apprehend the time traveller, he somehow managed to get away. Percy thinks he's just in hiding. I think he's hiding in the future."

"Wait… you've got to be kidding me!" Dominique exclaimed. "After all of that, he didn't even get Dave? That's stupid!"

"Are you sure that even happened?" Victorie asked.

Bill nodded with complete conviction. "I don't expect you to be mindless and believe me. Percy still has the clothing. Check his wardrobe, there will be one antique white shirt amongst his other shirts and trousers which look a bit too coral. You can go and see the proof yourself."

His three children stood up and ran out of the room quicker than when they call 'dinner'. Perhaps he should have warned Percy about telling them that story. It was a true story after all… but it doesn't mean he was allowed to share it.


	32. Forgetting to breathe

**QL, Wigtown Wanderers, Beater 1, Finals Round 2. Theme: We all have different reasons for forgetting to breathe. (Andrea Gibson). Prompts: [word] passing. [Phrase] In my heart.**

 **Word Count: 1184**

 **Beta: Bailey, Aya**

* * *

We all have different reasons for forgetting to breathe. For a lot of people it's finding their soulmate. There were many times I observed Ron turning bright red or blue because of the lack of oxygen. For others, it's finding their enemy. Draco in particular was fun to watch as he mentioned 'telling his father'. For me it was the last second of my life as I saw my brother's reaction. We both knew it was the end. I suppose I didn't even need the breath - what good would it do me now? As my eyes found his, I didn't think about attempting to draw a breath, in fact, that was nowhere on my mind. All I thought about was trying to convey to my brother, my twin, my other half, that everything was going to be okay. He would live on. He could do this without me. It would take him time to realise that, but George had the time. I, however, had less than a second to reminisce over everything that has happened in my 19 years of life.

The myths were right – when you die, your life really does flash before your eyes.

The earliest memory I have passes by in the blink of an eye. It's a blurry image of George laughing. He was laughing at me, and I at him. The simplicity of it seems to capture the true nature of my relationship with him. The memories seem to flash past, fleeting photographs and snippets of life, passing quickly before my eyes. The common denominator in them all is George. It confirms what I already knew ‒ that our lives were irrevocably and inextricably intertwined, that my life really did revolve around his. The majority of times his face appears, there's a huge smile. My twin had always been the most important part of my life, so it wasn't a surprise that he was at the forefront of my thoughts at the last moment of my life. There was a level of calmness that filled me as I saw countless images of George smiling and laughing through the years. I know that it will be difficult for him to find joy after I'm gone ‒ I would be the same if our roles were switched. But he _would_ learn to do it again, in time. My only regret is that I wouldn't get to see him do it anymore firsthand.

A few memories slowed long enough for them to stand out to me. Charlie saying goodbye before he left to work with dragons; Bill sneaking just me out to go flying; walking up to the stool to be sorted by myself; dancing with Angelina at the Yule Ball; talking to Ginny about her feelings for Harry and in the end encouraging her to go for it. They were all things I experienced alone, things that helped me become the person I am ‒ or, was. They helped me develop my own individual identity over the years. And I'm sure George had similar times when he was alone, too. We knew we wouldn't be joined at the hip our whole lives, but neither of us imagined the other just _not_ being there. Death had never been a consideration in either of our minds; even living apart was sometimes too much to fathom.

As the second nearly ticked, the images flashed quicker, but they were more vivid, more profound. Staying up all night with George to create the dragon fireworks; George making the worst 'holey' joke ever; George and I pranking together.

Finally, my whole family flashed before me. Every single Christmas and birthday. The breakfasts, dinners, and picnics spent together. The feasts that Mum made with spices and love. Having food fights with all of my brothers. Being scolded by Mum for messing about or sneaking out. Trying to work out the function of many Muggle items with Dad. Idolising Bill and Charlie. Doing everything possible to annoy Percy. Helping Ron to find his place and protecting Ginny as much as I could without her knowing. Family was at the core of every experience, at the centre of everything I had loved. Family _was_ everything.

In this moment, the last ever moment I would have been alive, I was proud of who I was and the family I was born into. I was loved and had loved. They would always be in my heart, and I knew I would never be forgotten. I attempted to smile instead of breathing before the life left my body and I moved onto the next adventure – my first one away from my family.

It was only as I closed my eyes for the last time that I saw George take a breath – my final breath was pointless but I'm glad he remembered he still needed to breathe, to live. It was a comforting thought as I concluded my life as Fred Weasley.

* * *

Without any second-guessing, I knew something was wrong when I turned and saw Fred go down. It was wrong. This couldn't be happening, but as our eyes met everything around me paused. I didn't even think to breathe – who could at a time like this?

Every significant moment in my life so far has involved him. Fred and I are inseparable. The last time we were apart I lost an ear, ending a lifetime of jokes and miscalled names. Now, it looked like my twin was going to leave me forever. The wrongness of it sent a shock through my body. Twins are born together, and they should die together.

Fred's face looked weird — he wasn't smiling or laughing. Though, he didn't look scared either. He almost looked calm as he faced death alone. We had known our lives wouldn't always continue down the same path, there would be forks in the road. But this was not one we had considered, even with being in a war. I just know in my heart that I cannot go on without Fred by my side instead of in my heart. A memory is just not the same.

How could death even think about taking him away without me? I took a breath and Fred didn't. I shouldn't have taken a breath without him.

In that eternal moment, I forgot about the war, my friends, my family, everything. I barely remembered to breathe. I knew that my life from then on would always be a bit greyer without the happiest, cheekiest, and best friend I ever had.

And as much as it was a small glimmer of hope, I knew Fred would never fake his death as a prank – that would be too far. We knew where to draw the line, and this would have been beyond the pale.

I knew when he was gone. I didn't have to look at him or even glance in his direction to know it was over. I wonder if, in his final moments, Fred thought I could live without him. If so, he was dead wrong. Twins go together. Always and Forever.


End file.
